


Pleasure to Meet You, Mr. Dixon

by akiraflame_tumblr



Series: The Mr. Dixon Series [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 10:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2306822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akiraflame_tumblr/pseuds/akiraflame_tumblr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No ZA. Part 1/3. Beth is a song writer hoping to write her own songs and sing them. She hopes to move on with her life but struggles to let go of the past. Daryl is a drifter, following Merle wherever he goes. Their paths cross and a friendship is formed. Beth realizes that she wants more but danger threatens their lives and the lives of her family. Will their relationship survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Dammit, Merle, I thought you said you'd found a house or cabin for us to stay in. Not some damn apartment," Daryl growled out as he followed his brother up the stairs of a tall apartment building.

"Calm down, Darylina. It's just a temporary place to stay while I…take care of some things," his brother replied. "Besides, a friend said we could stay here while he was out of town, said he had rent taken care of and everything. Free roof over our heads!" Merle stopped on a landing and slid the key into the keyhole of the door numbered  **4B**  immediately next to the stairs. Daryl looked around the empty, wooden stairwell before his eyes landed on the only other door on their floor,  **4A**. There was a simple white flower taped to the door and a slip of paper that had " _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETH! See you tonight, Mags and Glenn_ " written on it taped next to it.

Merle opened the door and Daryl took his eyes from the flower and note and looked into his new place of residence. It had the bare minimum in furniture but it was clean and warm, despite the cool Fall air blowing outside. Daryl heard a guitar being played outside and Merle snorted.

"Oh yeah, we have to share our balcony with the neighbor…Just what we wanted, a yoddlin' neighbor…" Merle shook his head and disappeared around the corner of the living room to where Daryl assumed the bedrooms were.

"Claimed!" Merle shouted as he dropped his bag on a bed in one of the rooms. Daryl shrugged his duffle bag of clothes and his crossbow off his shoulder and on to the couch. He was more curious about the neighbor, Beth if the flower and note on the door were correct about their name. He assumed their neighbor was a she, since their name was Beth. Whoever she was, she could play the guitar very well. Daryl walked to the door to the balcony and unlocked it. The door gave a loud click as it opened and the guitar playing stopped. He didn't even get the door opened all the way before he heard soft footsteps moving away and the other door opening.

"Sorry," was all he heard from a soft female voice. He popped his head out the door and saw blonde hair disappear into the open door that quickly closed and locked. Their neighbor was awfully shy, he guessed. The balcony was larger than Daryl had expected. Their neighbor had a couple of chairs sitting outside their door, along with a couple of potted flowers and a small vegetable garden that looked to have strawberries and something else growing in it.

Next to Daryl and his door sat two chairs exactly like his neighbor's with a small wooden table between the two chairs and an ashtray on the table. He sat down in one of the chairs and pulled out a cigarette and began smoking. He could hear Merle moving around inside their new apartment. He sounded like an elephant moving around. The sound of blinds moving to his left brought Daryl's attention back to his neighbor's balcony door and he saw a handwritten note taped to the glass.

_I'm sorry if my playing disturbed you. I didn't know anyone had moved in next door. I'll be quieter from here on,_

_4A._

The handwriting was neat and obviously feminine, but not girly. It didn't have curls or hearts. Just neat print. Daryl frowned at the part of her being quieter. Compared to how Merle was moving and throwing things around, their neighbor was a mouse. Daryl finished his cigarette and put it out in the ashtray beside him. He glanced briefly at his neighbor's door and saw the note was gone and a flash of wide blue eyes and blonde hair before the blinds fell back into place.

Daryl sighed and shook his head before returning inside, sliding the door closed with a click.

* * *

Beth had been working on a new song on her balcony when she heard a voice yelling in the apartment next door. She immediately stopped playing and listened to see if she had been hearing things or not. That apartment had been empty for almost three months now so the fact that there were voices in it surprised her. When the door clicked and began to open, nerves hit her stomach and she bolted to her apartment. Normally she was much friendlier and would have stayed outside to greet her new neighbors but the yelling voice didn't sound friendly. They sounded annoyed and rude. Beth had had enough of angry people for one day after her shift at work and had decided to immediately return to her own space to avoid dealing with anymore people.

Through her blinds she could see a tall,  _very_  fit man standing and looking around at their shared balcony. His brown hair was somewhat long, reaching to the tops of his shoulders with bangs that hung in his eyes. Even from where she was, she could see his startling blue eyes. His face had a rough look to it that she found extremely handsome and she watched as he ran a hand over the stubble growing on his chin. His button up was sleeveless with frayed edges, meaning that he had probably torn the sleeves off himself. His arms were well muscled and Beth couldn't help but think that he could lift her off the ground in his arms easily. Beth was startled from her observations by a loud ruckus going on in the strange man's apartment. She could see the man on the balcony close his eyes and something akin to anger or frustration crossed his features. Whoever he was living with was  _loud_  and they obviously annoyed him.

Remembering that she had been playing outside when they had arrived, Beth decided to write her apology for the disturbance and taped it to her glass door. She watched as the man lit his cigarette and took a puff from it before looking her way and reading the note. A look of confusion crossed his face and he shook his head as his roommate made more noise and yelled something Beth couldn't understand.

_Maybe my playing isn't the worst thing he's had to listen to today. Compared to his roommate, I'm a mouse…_  Beth thought to herself and she saw him turn to put out his cigarette. She took her note down now that she knew he had seen it. She raised her head and saw the man staring right at her and quickly moved away from the door.

Beth could hear her neighbor return inside his apartment and sighed. She'll have to welcome the new neighbors to the building another time, maybe when they weren't so loud and angry sounding? She made a note to welcome them properly before the week was over. Beth was startled from her thoughts by a sudden knocking on her door.

_Did my neighbor think I was being a creeper and want to talk to me about it?_   _What a great first impression he must have of me now…"Hi, 4B, let me introduce myself. I'm Beth and I promise I'm not a creeper or a stalker, I was just enjoying looking at you!_  Beth snorted to herself and shook her head.  _What a great way to introduce myself. I'd be better off never leaving my apartment again…_

"Beth, come on! We have dinner with daddy soon! Open up!" came the muffled voice of Maggie and Beth released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She walked quickly to her front door, unlocked and opened the door. Maggie stood in front of the door, a huge smile on her face as she lunged at Beth and hugged her tightly. "Happy birthday, sis!" Maggie practically screamed as she held her.

Beth's blue eyes turned to Glenn as her sister began to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Glenn just smiled and gave her his best  _I'm sorry, but you should be used to it_ look.

"Maggie, keep it down. I have neighbors now," she replied as she held her sister tightly to her and then pushed her away to breathe.

"As if they can hear anything over the ruckus their making," Maggie huffed before reaching to pull the flower and note off the door. "You didn't see this but it was supposed to surprise you. Here," Maggie handed the flower and note to Beth who took it graciously, enjoying the sweet fragrance the flower had before putting it in a cup of water.

"Thank you, it's very beautiful," she replied with a smile. "Are we ready? I'd hate to keep daddy waiting," she asked as she pulled on her boots and tucked her jeans over them. Maggie ran a hand quickly through Beth's long hair to smooth it down a little and then put her hands on her sister's shoulder.

"Hard to believe you're twenty-two already, Bethy…"

"Happy birthday, Beth," Glenn interrupted, hugging her quickly now that Maggie had moved to let him in. Beth thanked him and grabbed her wallet and keys before ushering the couple out of her apartment and locking the door.

"Everyone! My sister is twenty-two years old today!" Maggie shouted in the stairwell and Beth blushed furiously.

"Seriously, Maggie! Keep it down!" Beth chided as she glanced around to make sure no one was going to pop out of their apartment and yell at them for being too loud. "Has she had anything to drink, Glenn? She acts like she's drunk…"

"Sadly, she hasn't. But she has been very excited for tonight. She's missed you and your dad very much," Glenn replied as they headed downstairs.

* * *

Daryl picked up his duffle bag of clothes and took them to his bedroom. Merle was still making a ruckus in the kitchen and living room doing whatever he was doing, making Daryl sigh in annoyance. Just then he heard a female yell in the stairwell.

**"Everyone! My sister is twenty-two years old today!"** which was quickly followed by "Seriously, Maggie! Keep it down!"

_So 4A has a sister and turned twenty-two today? Interesting_ , Daryl thought to himself. He was surprised he even found himself thinking about it. Something about the quiet and shy, guitar playing neighbor had him intrigued. He decided to do something extremely unusual for his personality and grabbed a piece of paper.

* * *

When Beth stumbled up the stairs, laughing softly with an equally drunk Maggie and a poor, sober Glenn, she was surprised to hear silence coming from her neighbor's apartment. She giggled and put her finger to her lips to tell Maggie to keep it down.

"I'll take her down to the car once I know you're in safely," Glenn told her. The two drunken sisters had kept him highly amused for the past hour after they had had a wonderful dinner with their father and then the decided to hit the bar on the way back to Beth's apartment. Beth nodded and quickly got her keys out and tried to unlock the door, missing on her first attempt. This set Maggie off on another round of giggling, which then infected Beth. Glenn smiled and shook his head at the two before helping guide the key into the lock and opening the door for Beth.

"Thank you, Glenn. You'll be the best brother-in-law I could ask for. Now just…pop the question already," Beth told him with a giggle. Glenn blushed and coughed slightly while Maggie laughed even harder.

"Goodnight, Beth," he said quietly before guiding Maggie back down the stairs and to his car. Beth closed and locked her door, dropping her keys and wallet on the floor by the door and pulling her boots off with next to no grace as she stumbled and almost fell in the process.

"You're drunk, Beth," she told herself with a laugh. Her eyes made a sweep around her apartment, her alcohol-riddled brain telling her that the couch looked super comfy for sleeping on and she walked happily to it. Right as she was about to drop onto the plushy surface, her eyes fell on her balcony door and the piece of paper taped to the outside of it.

She walked as best as she could to it and squinted her eyes at the small, sloppy handwriting.

_Happy birthday, 4A._

_4B_

Beth smiled and opened her balcony door to remove the note. She caught the smell of a cigarette and turned. In one of the chairs by her neighbor's door sat the attractive, fit man from earlier. His blue eyes watching her curiously. A blush rushed up Beth's neck and onto her cheeks and she stumbled slightly. She giggled and held up her hand when her neighbor stood up to help her.

"I'm okay…I mean, I'm drunk, but I'm okay…" she laughed out and she saw his lips quirk into a small smile as he watched her. She cleared her throat and forced herself to stand up straighter. Alcohol-riddled or not, she knew this was the time to introduce herself to the man. "I'm sorry about earlier, my playing that is. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm Beth, Beth Greene," the words practically tumbled out of her mouth and she saw her neighbor's lips smirk at her drunken speech. Beth could feel her face get even hotter.

"I'm sorry, I should wait to introduce myself until I'm not drunk. I talk a lot and it's awful. This is awkward. Oh, you're not awkward, I'm awkward. You're attractive…Oh god, I'm sorry, I'm leaving now!" Beth slapped her hand over her mouth and turned to leave. Her neighbor gave a deep chuckle and she turned to face him, mortified.

"Daryl," he said around his amusement, "my name's Daryl Dixon." Beth could feel her mortification decreasing and smiled, holding out her hand. He stared at it for a moment before hesitantly reaching out and grasping her hand and giving it a soft shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dixon."


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aw, thank you for your reviews and favoriting guys! I'm so nervous about this story but as long as you're enjoying it! Yes, there was a Frozen reference in chapter one. I love how awkward Anna is and that line is one I could see drunk Beth saying so I had to put it in the chapter.
> 
> Lyrics in this chapter are from Emily Kinney's song Expired Lover.

Beth groaned as the sunlight streamed through the blinds hanging on her balcony door. Her head was throbbing and her mouth felt gross.  _My first hangover…That's what I get for letting Maggie buy the drinks last night_ , she though dryly. Normally when she drank, it was only enough to get a buzz and feel good. Last night had been full blown drunken stupor. She forced herself to sit up and frowned when a blanket fell off her shoulders and onto her legs.  _When did I grab a blanket?_  She asked herself before remembering the night before. She groaned and blushed with embarrassment as she remembered blurting to her new neighbor that she thought he was attractive. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard her phone ding from somewhere in the couch and began digging in the cushions for the offending object.

_One New Text Message From: Glenn_  she smiled slightly as she remembered her awkward outburst about him needing to propose to Maggie. The two had been dating for two, maybe even three years. They were practically living together, only keeping separate apartments so that their father wouldn't lose it. It was a necessary thing to tell him. To plant the seed of marriage in his brain.

 _How are you feeling? Maggie's nursing one hell of a hangover. I feel cruel but I really want to make as much noise as possible right now for both of you._  Beth frowned. Another loud ding came from her phone and she winced as her head throbbed painfully in return.

_So I'm just going to keep sending you texts…_ **Ding!**

_So that you become aware of how jealous I am…_ **Ding!**

_That y'all decided to drink and make me be the DD._

Beth growled and typed an angry message with colorful words she rarely used and sent it to him.  **Ding!**

 _I'm sorry, what was that? Your head hurts?_  Beth threw her phone back under the couch cushions and pushed herself to stand up and find her pain relievers. Her phone continued to ding under the couch cushion and she sighed angrily. She loved Glenn, she really did. But sometimes he took his teasing of her a little too far. Or maybe she was just really grumpy from her hangover? She'd never had one before but had been around Maggie when she had one to know that the grumpiness was part of the package. Beth popped two pain relievers and guzzled a bottle of water.

A phone call rang from under the cushion, but Beth decided to ignore it for now and focus on food and what happened with her neighbor last night.  _Daryl_ she recalled his name being. She remembered shaking his hand, his grip soft on hers but his skin had been rough and calloused. He obviously used his hands a lot, probably for manual labor. Daryl had been incredibly amused by her being drunk last night but he had seemed friendly. Guarded, but friendly. His voice had been deep and gravelly and she remembered the shiver she had felt hearing it. Or maybe it was the cool breeze of the evening. That's what she was going to blame it on. The breeze. Though she was fairly certain there hadn't been one at that time in their conversation.

Things got a little fuzzy from there. She recalled them standing in awkward silence for a moment before she stuttered something about going to sleep on her couch. She remembered stumbling again and his hand on her elbow to keep her from falling. The look on his face told her he was just as surprised by the action as she was and as soon as she was upright, he let go of her. He had acted like she had burned him. She remembered getting this feeling like it had been a rejection and the blush on her face burned anew. Beth remembered feeling mortified.

She remembered stumbling into her apartment and collapsing on her couch, not even bothering to close her balcony door. Daryl had followed her to the doorway and watched. She remembered his face showing amusement and something else. It was fuzzy but she thought it might have been concern. She had watched from her place on the couch as he glanced around her living room. The place was cluttered but organized in her mind. It probably looked like a disaster to anyone else. Sheet music, writing utensils, books, headphones, and CDs lay in stacks around her living room and on top of her laptop. Her guitar was on its stand next to the couch and his eyes lingered on that for longer than everything else. He shook his head and glanced back at her, his eyes a light with curiosity. He also looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay? Do you…uh…need anything?" she remembered visibly shivering with his voice and knew she couldn't argue that it was the chill for that one. He seemed to think it was the chill as he offered to find her a blanket. Beth remembered nodding and directing him to get one off her bed from the next room. He walked stiffly and uncertainly around her couch and into her room, coming back quickly with a blanket which he draped awkwardly over her before bidding her a happy birthday and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Beth groaned and put her forehead against her cabinets as she leaned against the counter top.  _Way to be the most awkward person ever, Beth Greene._  Beth began to feel her headache dissipate and she sighed, already feeling a lot better. She quickly pulled her hair into a pony tail and braided one small section of it before she made herself a sandwich, dug her phone out from under the cushions and took her meal out on to her balcony. She was relieved to see she was alone and happily sat down in one of the chairs by her door. She immediately ignored any of Glenn's messages and frowned when she saw the missed call had been from one of the singers she was currently writing new music for.  _They even left me a voicemail…great_ , she thought before playing the voicemail.

"Hey, Beth! I've been kind of thinking about some of the new songs you wrote for me. I'm really not so sure I like them anymore. Do you think you could tweak a couple of things in each one? Like, okay in song…" Beth hung up on the voicemail and sighed.

"Once again, you don't like the songs. But here's the kicker, I didn't write them for  _you_." Beth focused on finishing her meal and decided that she would deal with the music conundrum from work later. Hearing silence in her neighbor's apartment, she hoped that they weren't home so that she could work on one of her newest songs. It was a breakup song based on her ending it with her previous boyfriend, Zach. They hadn't dated long before she ended it. The spark never came for her and she hadn't seen the relationship going anywhere after the three months they dated.

Beth stood up and walked back into her apartment, picking up her guitar and walking back to her seat on her balcony. She gave a cautious glance to her neighbor's balcony door as she strummed a couple of notes on the instrument. She waited a couple of minutes before playing anything else, to see if Daryl or his roommate were going to come and tell her to shut up. It was after noon, so she hoped that that would mean they weren't still sleeping but she didn't know their schedule or anything about them for that matter. When no one came to stop her, she began playing what she had written for her song. When nobody came after a little while longer, she began to sing the words she had written while playing.

_I don't want you anymore_ _  
_ _Summer's gone, and now I'm sure_ _  
_ _The box behind my bed I've saved_ _  
_ _I took out with the trash today_

Daryl sat on the couch in his apartment feeling incredibly bored. Merle had up and left to do god knows what with god knows who, leaving Daryl to attempt to find something to do. He was about to turn on the TV when he heard a guitar being played, cautiously at first, as if she was afraid he'd come out and stop her. He sat in silence to see if she would play anymore and was rewarded when she played a few more notes of a song. He didn't recognize any part of the song so far but it had been a while since he had listened to the radio. When she stopped playing, Daryl was surprised to feel disappointed. Beth Greene was an excellent guitar player.  _And an amusing drunk_ , he added remembering how awkward and clumsy she had been.

He thought back to how soft her voice had been, how quickly she blushed and how it had only look more beautiful to his eyes. He shook his head to clear the thought.  _We won't be here that long, no point in making friends or anything like that with her,_  he thought bitterly. Daryl was brought out of his thoughts again when the guitar playing started again but this time, a soft sweet voice flowed with the notes. She only sang a couple of lines before stopping and Daryl found himself standing up and going to his balcony door. He could see Beth sitting next to her door with her guitar looking around as if she had lost something. Then her eyes flew to his door and she smiled, biting on her lower lip.

_Oh, the truth is: I've met someone new_ _  
_ _The truth is: you probably have, too_ _  
_ _The truth is: I can't stand your face_ _  
_ _When I think of all the love we made_ __  


Daryl opened his balcony door, the loud clicking sound making Beth jump and mess up the note she was playing. Her wide eyes met his and she immediately stood, her cheeks turning pink from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were home. I didn't mean to disturb you, I'll stop playing," she said hurriedly as she stood to go inside.

"No, it's fine. You…sing and play really well," Daryl told her. He felt extremely awkward but he didn't want her to think he didn't like it. Truth was she sang beautifully. It had been a while since he had heard anything live that sounded decent, let alone something as beautiful as her singing. The blush on Beth's face darkened and she smiled softly.

"Thank you." She replied and he grunted in return. An awkward silence filled the space between them before Beth sat back down, laying her guitar on her lap and watching him openly. Daryl shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable under her stare. She smiled and he felt his discomfort lessen slightly.

"I'm  _really_  sorry about last night. I was pretty lit," she laughed softly as her blush returned. Daryl smirked and nodded.

"That's alright. It was your birthday; you're supposed to celebrate it. What better way then going out with your…sister?" he asked and Beth nodded.

"Yes, my sister Maggie and her boyfriend Glenn came and picked me up for dinner with our dad and then it was a spur of the moment to go get drinks afterwards," she answered and Daryl nodded.

"That song you were playing…I don't think I've ever heard it before," Daryl started as he pulled out a cigarette and his lighter. "Do you mind if I…?" he gestured to the cigarette. Normally he didn't give a rat's ass about whether or not the people around him minded if he smoked but something about the quiet girl in front of him made him want to ask.

"No, I don't mind. Though I hear this rumor about those things killing people," Beth teased and Daryl snorted, grinning at her.

"I recall hearing such a rumor," he replied making Beth laugh.

"And the song…you don't recognize it because its not on the radio…yet. Maybe it will be if it ever gets finished…I've been writing it for a while now," Beth said before sighing heavily. Daryl nodded slightly, taking a deep inhale of his cigarette and turning his head when he exhaled to make sure the smoke didn't blow in her face.

"Is it a hobby of yours? Writing songs?" Beth smiled at his gesture and question.

"Sort of. I write songs for singers on the radio today but the songs they want aren't really my type. They want songs about sex, hooking up, drugs, partying…I just have a hard time writing those kinds of songs. So, I've started writing songs of my own and maybe one day, they can be heard on the radio too…It's a ridiculous dream. I should be happy anything of mine has become well known anywhere…" Beth tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear and fiddled with the strings on her guitar.

"I'm sure it is different, though," Daryl replied. Beth looked at him strangely and he gestured to her guitar. "It's gotta be different to hear something of yours, with your voice and your meaning behind it, on the radio, right? Other singers probably take credit for your work, don't they? And I can only imagine what they must be like to write stuff for." Beth snorted and nodded.

"A bunch of divas, even the men. Just today I got a phone call from one of them wanting me to change the lyrics of several of the songs I wrote for her."

Daryl snorted and shook his head.  _Unbelievable,_  he thought. If the songs Beth wrote for those other singers were half as good as what she wrote for herself, he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to change them.

"Enough about me, tell me something about you," Beth said excitedly. Daryl tensed slightly before taking one last inhale from his cigarette and putting it out in the ashtray.

"Like what?" he grumbled. Beth smiled and seemed unbothered by his mood change.

"Like…who is your roommate?" Daryl flinched slightly at the question and Beth's smile dropped slightly.

"M' brother, Merle. Sorry 'bout him yesterday. He can get…loud."

"It's alright," Beth replied. Silence fell between the two again but Daryl noticed that this time, it didn't feel as awkward. Beth hummed to herself softly, occasionally playing a note on her guitar. She bit her lip before her eyes widened slightly and she bolted into her apartment, surprising Daryl. He was about to stand up to make sure she was okay when he heard what sounded like a stack of paper falling to the floor in her apartment followed by an "oh, shoot!"

Beth returned seconds later with a notebook and a pen, having put her guitar on its stand inside. She quickly opened the notebook and jotted something down. When she was finished writing she looked up and met Daryl's stare. He had one eyebrow quirked at her and she blushed slightly.

"Sorry. I have music in my head all the time and sometimes if I don't get it written down, I forget it in a jumble of other music ideas," she explained. He nodded slightly and silence fell again. Daryl heard footsteps approaching through his door and closed his eyes.  _Merle_ , he realized. The door opened and Merle stepped out with a big grin on his face.

"There ya are, Darylina, I was lookin' for ya." Merle's eyes traveled to Beth's and his grin grew. "Well, well, meeting the neighbor, eh brother? What's your name, Sugartits?" Daryl put his face in his hand as Beth blushed brightly at the name.

"Ex…excuse me?" Beth stammered out as Daryl pushed himself out of his seat and put his hand on Merle's shoulder.

"Are ya deaf or somethin'? Your name, Sugartits. What is it?"

"Leave her alone…" Daryl started as he watched Beth stand up, her cheeks an endearing red color.

"My name is Beth. You must be Merle," she replied. Daryl noticed she didn't offer her hand out for Merle to shake.

"Has my Darylina here been talkin' about me? Or does my reputation precede me? Ya know, Pretty Girl, if you wanna come on in, I can show ya a better time than my brother here," Merle flirted as he took a stepper to Beth. Daryl glared at his brother but was surprised to see Beth stand taller.

"My name is Beth, Merle. Not "Pretty Girl" or Sugartits or any other vulgar name you wanna use and your brother's name is Daryl. I don't think he appreciates you callin him a feminine version of his name," Beth spat out, surprising the two brothers. Merle let out a laugh and turned to Daryl, who leveled his glare on Beth.

"You gotta girly girl pickin your battles for ya now,  _Daryl_. You're a feisty one, Sugartits. I like that," Merle laughed before going inside. Daryl continued glaring at the blonde in front of him as he turned to go inside.

"Daryl, I'm sorry," she tried but he shook his head and went into his apartment, his door closing tightly behind him.


	3. Chapter Three

Beth sighed and slumped into her couch cushions, kicking off her shoes and placing her bare feet on top of her coffee table, wiggling her toes happily at the feeling of being shoeless. It had been almost a week since she had last interacted with the Dixon brothers. She had been intentionally avoiding the balcony and had been lucky to avoid them in the stairway outside her apartment as well. She had a feeling Daryl was avoiding her as much as she was him. Not that she blamed him. She had imposed on his personal life by arguing for his sake against his brother. His brother was a piece of work that was for sure. At first, she had felt somewhat intimidated by him but the longer she thought about the brothers, the more certain she became that Merle Dixon wasn't as bad and threatening as she had originally thought.

 _Never judge someone by their appearance, Bethy_  her mother had told her once. In this instance, the first conversation would fall under that "appearance" category as well. Beth sighed sadly as she looked at the date on her calendar. It had been five years to the day since her mother had died and Beth hadn't made it to her grave yet to see her. Things had been slow with her songwriting after she had "fixed" the songs that needed "fixing." She was signed on with multiple label companies, but it was an odd time in the industry when singers were pickier than normal or taking vacations from singing.

Beth felt exhausted. She had never told her father, Maggie, or her brother Shawn that she had other jobs too, not just writing music. Something had to help pay the bills while she was still getting her foot in the door of the music industry. She had just gotten off from an early morning shift with a diner outside of town. Tomorrow was another long day because she had to be at her church to teach Sunday school in the morning and then be at the diner for the afternoon and evening, working the dinner shift. Beth groaned at the thought of it. She was grateful for her bosses at both places though. She had explained to them that today was the fifth anniversary of her mother's passing and both jobs had cleared her for the rest of the day. She had only worked this morning because her friend Amy had gotten sick overnight and needed someone to cover her short, but extremely early, morning shift.

Beth stood up grudgingly and went into her bedroom to change into her knee length black dress to wear to see her mother. Daddy, Maggie, and Shawn had already gone that morning. She knew that because they had called asking if she wanted them to pick her up. She had lied to them, saying that she was in the recording studio helping one of her singers with a song, before hanging up and taking a breakfast platter to an elderly gentleman. Beth slipped the black dress on and smoothed down any wrinkles before tackling her hair. She pulled it from its ponytail and worked her brush through it. Beth knew better than to mess with makeup, knowing that she would probably wind up crying and smearing it everywhere.

Beth's blue eyes looked sadly at the silver photo frame on her dresser. The photo was of her and her mother. They had been dancing in the kitchen at their farmhouse and hadn't known that her daddy had been there taking pictures of them. The smile on her mother's face was bright, full of happiness and love. Beth looked carefree, her long hair pulled back and her clothes dirty from helping with chores on the farm. Beth's eyes burned and tears quickly made their way down her face. She took a deep breath and wiped them away, walking to her closet to grab her black high heels and slip them on. She walked slowly into her living room and grabbed her keys, cell phone, and a bouquet of pink roses and white daisies. Her mother's two favorite types of flowers.

Beth gingerly touched the flowers and sighed heavily as more tears made their way down her face. She opened her apartment door and froze. Daryl and Merle were leaving their apartment as well and she quickly wiped away her tears, locked her door, and gave them the best smile she could manage before walking down the stairs.

She walked quickly to her car, climbed in and closed the door. She put the key in the ignition, turned it, and groaned when it wouldn't start.

"No, please…please, please, please!" She cried out as she tried the key over and over again. She climbed out of her car, stumbling slightly as her vision blurred and sobs wracked her body. "Please! I need to get to mama!" She cried out. The sun shone brightly on the weeping blonde as she leaned against her car and sobbed into her hands. A throat cleared softly behind her and she whipped around, her hair sticking to the tear tracks on her face. Daryl and Merle stood awkwardly behind her and she hurriedly wiped her face.

Beth took in the two brothers' appearance. Daryl was wearing a long sleeved button up shirt with a leather vest on top of it. His jeans had holes in the knees and he was wearing boots. He was carrying a crossbow with a handful of bolts in a bag on his back. Merle was wearing a white wife beater with a plaid, unbuttoned long sleeved shirt on top of it. He had some kind of large, hunting knife strapped to his hip. The two looked incredibly uncomfortable as she stood there crying softly.

"Hi…" she said awkwardly through her hiccups and heavy breathing as she tried to calm herself.

"Are you…alright, Beth?" Merle asked and Beth felt surprised as he called her by her name. Daryl looked surprised too before returning his attention to the blonde in front of him. She looked truly beautiful in the black dress and heels but he couldn't think more on the fact because of her red rimmed eyes and tear stained cheeks. Beth smiled faintly but both brothers could tell it was fake. The smile dropped and she bit her bottom lip.

"M…my car won't start…." Beth said as her lower lip trembled. She fought to keep the tears in but they tore their way down her face in heavy sobs, "and…and I n-need to g-get to m-my M-mama…" she choked out. Merle looked at his brother and handed him the truck keys.

"Daryl'll take ya to yer mama, Little Miss. I'll see if I can't figure out what's wrong with your car," the older Dixon said as he held out his hand for her car key. She stared at him in surprise for a moment before nodding and picking up her phone and the flowers out of her car and taking her car key off the ring to hand to him. Both Dixon brothers stared at her in shock. She actually trusted Merle with her car after the terrible treatment he had given her during their first meeting? Merle cleared his throat and nodded to the truck behind him, gesturing for Beth to climb on in.

Daryl opened the passenger door for her and helped her get in, nodding in return to her quiet "thank you" before closing the door behind him. He met Merle's eyes for a moment before going around to the driver's side door.

"Hey," Merle called out awkwardly. Daryl froze and looked at him. Merle glanced at the blonde in the truck and nodded. "Take care of 'er." Daryl frowned before nodding and climbing into the truck. Beth clung tightly to the flowers in her hand and gave him short directions to get to where ever she needed to go. Daryl's heart stopped when he realized he was pulling into a cemetery.

"You…you can stop here…" the blonde whispered. Daryl stopped the truck in the drive of the cemetery and Beth took a shaky breath. "Thank you, Daryl…for doing this for me. After the way I acted last time…you didn't need to do this and you did anyways…" Beth wiped away her tears even though it was futile and more ran down her face immediately afterwards. Daryl nodded and looked around. He felt incredibly uncomfortable. He had no clue what to say to the heart broken woman sitting in the seat next to him.

"Do you…do you want me to join you?" he asked her softly. Beth picked at a piece of lint on her dress and shrugged.

"I imagine this must be very awkward for you," she gave a short laugh, but it held no humor. "You barely know me and here I am bawling like a baby in your truck, forcing you to take me to a cemetery. No, Daryl, you can leave. I'll call Glenn to come get me…" she looked back up at him and smiled softly. "Thank you again, Daryl." She whispered before grabbing her things and the flowers and climbing out of the truck, closing the door behind her. Daryl sat frozen in his seat for a moment before he turned the truck off and climbed out after her, putting the truck keys in his pocket. He quickly caught up to her and held his arm out awkwardly for her to grab ahold of. Her blue eyes widened slightly at the gesture and she opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut when he nodded.

"Yea, I'm sure," he replied to her unspoken question and she nodded glumly before wrapping her arm around his. He eased her phone and apartment key out of her hand and put them in his pants pocket with his own phone and the truck keys. The ground was soft from rain the night before and her heels sank into the ground as they stepped off the gravel, making her lean a little more into him. She gave a soft chuckle through her tears and shook her head.

"Mama hated me wearing heels…she said I didn't need to grow any taller and that the farm was no place for high heels. I agree with the latter, of course, but…I like high heels. She never understood why," Beth said softly, a smile still on her face. Daryl put his other hand on her arm as a show to comfort her and she smiled gratefully at him. He liked her in high heels too, if he was honest. She was almost the same height as him with them on but they made her legs look miles longer and her posture…Daryl shook the thoughts out of his head and returned his attention to in front of them. He noticed they were nearing a headstone with the name _Annette Greene_  carved into it with beautiful cursive font. Daryl was never one for cemeteries or funerals but the grave in front of him was almost as beautiful as the tall blonde beside him. The grave had been cleaned of the fallen leaves from the fall air and had pink roses and white flowers positioned around and on top of it.

"Everyone else has already been here…" Beth explained as she stared at the scene in front of them. The wind blew slightly and carried a chill over the two. Beth shivered slightly and felt Daryl shrug off his leather vest and place it over her shoulders. Her nose instantly picked up the smell of leather, woods, and a distinct smell that she could only assume was Daryl. It was pleasant and she felt herself calm slightly after smelling it.

"It's not much," he told her before he hesitantly reached an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body for heat.

"It's perfect…thank you," she replied softly before returning her attention to the grave in front of her. The hollow ache she had felt throughout the day turned into a crushing pain as she read and reread the note on the grave in front of her.

_Nothing Is More Precious_ _  
_ _Than The Thoughts We Have Of You_ _  
_ _To Us You Were So Special,_ _  
_ _God Must Have Thought So Too_

"She was beautiful," Beth said softly, leaning her head on Daryl's shoulder. "She taught me to dance and sing…to play the piano…I've got a photo, on my dresser, taken days before she…You wouldn't have known, looking at her in the picture, that just days later she'd be…" Beth took a deep breath as more tears rolled down her face, her hands clutching the bouquet tightly. "We were dancin' in the kitchen, mama and me…I had just come in from helping Maggie and Shawn with the horses. I was sweaty and filthy…but mama didn't care. She twirled me around the kitchen and we sang and laughed together…That was the first time mama ever burnt dinner."

"She sounds wonderful," Daryl told her. "You have a beautiful singing voice, she must have been an amazing teacher."

"She was. She was patient and loving…and forgiving…" Daryl doubted Beth had ever done anything to need her mother's forgiveness but he didn't say that out loud. Beth's tears turned to heavy sobs and she dropped to her knees in front of the grave. Daryl kneeled beside her, taking the bouquet gently and holding her against him.

"I lost my mom too," he admitted to her. Her watery blue eyes met his and he told the story of his mother and her death to Beth, while he stared at Annette Greene's gravestone.

"Mama…she died from a brain aneurysm," Beth said softly. "I got home from school, dropped my backpack on the porch and yelled into the screen door that I was going to check on our pregnant horse. When I came back from the barn, I realized the house was quiet. So…I took my bag inside and hollered for mama, asking where she was…I didn't get an answer so I walked into the kitchen t-to get a drink and found her on the floor." Beth's voice choked with a sob and Daryl held her tighter to him. "Maybe if I had gone inside first…" Beth cried out and Daryl ran his hand through her hair.

"There was nothin' you coulda done, Beth. Those things…" he growled as his words got tangled up in his head. He rocked her softly until her sobs died down to hiccups and she hid her face in her hands.

"I've soaked your shirt," she mumbled through her hands. Daryl shrugged.

"It's a shirt," he replied, "sometimes they need to be used as handkerchiefs. Mine's here anytime you need it." Daryl dug in his back pocket and pulled out his red bandana. He had just washed his clothes the day before, so he knew it was clean. He handed it to Beth and she used it to wipe her face of her tears. Daryl glanced at her before gesturing with the bouquet to the grave. Beth nodded with a smile and he positioned the flowers carefully in with the others.

"Mama would be grateful that you're here with me, Daryl. I'm sorry about putting you through all this but she would be very grateful and happy to know I had such a good guy, a good friend with me today." Daryl stared at the blonde in front of him in surprise. Her eyes widened slightly and she looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed we were...that you would wanna be…"

"It's not that, Beth," he interrupted her and she looked back at him shyly. "I've…I've never really had a friend before. It's always just been me and Merle," he told her quietly.

"Well, now it's the three of us." She replied with a soft smile. Daryl felt his lips quirk into a small one in return and he nodded. Beth turned to face the grave and took a deep breath.

"Mama, I want you to meet my new friend, Daryl Dixon."

After a little bit longer of talking and reminiscing, Daryl pointed out that Beth was shivering and that a storm was blowing in. Beth nodded and reluctantly stood up from where she had been on her knees as Daryl did the same.

"You've got mud on your jeans now…" Beth mumbled guiltily. "I'm really sorry about this…"

"It's alright," he replied before pointing at her knees, "you've got mud on your knees. Come on, let's get to the truck and get you cleaned up some." Beth nodded and accepted his arm as he held it out for her again. She gave the grave a last look before blowing a kiss at it and turning and walking away with Daryl. Once they were back at the truck, he helped her climb in before grabbing a bottle of water from the floor board and pouring it on his red bandana and using it to clean up Beth's knees. She blushed at the gesture but thanked him regardless. He nodded before closing the door and returning to the driver side of the truck and climbing in.

"Oh, I'm still wearing your vest," Beth pointed out before slipping an arm out to take it off.

"Hold on to it until we get back," he told her before glancing at her. "Besides, it looks better on you." Beth laughed and shook her head.

"Impossible. It fits your personality better and it's too big on me," she said with a smile. Daryl snorted. The last part was true, the vest was quite large on her petite frame. But the angel wings on the back of the vest definitely fit her better than they did him.

"I'll give ya that on the size but not the rest of it. Ya look good in leather and the angel wings fit you a hell of a lot better than me." Beth quirked an eyebrow before taking off the vest and looking at the back of it, her mouth forming an "oh" as she noticed the angel wings for the first time. She traced the stitching of the wings with her fingers for a moment before putting the vest back on with a smile.

"No, it definitely fits you better, Daryl. You're a good man, you saved me today." Beth was silent for a moment before turning to face him with her smile bright. "Do you really think I look good in leather?" she asked while making various faces and turning as best as the truck seat would allow her to to model the vest for him. Daryl laughed as he watched her while waiting at a red light and Beth joined in his laughter.

"Yea, you definitely look good in leather. But Beth?"

"Yea, Daryl?"

"Don't ever make that duck looking face again.  _That_  looked ridiculous," he told her and she laughed and nodded.

"Hey," Merle greeted as the two stepped in to the Dixon apartment. Merle was sitting in a recliner with a beer in his hand watching the TV. Beth was surprised by how clean it was but shook her head at the thought. Just because they were two men didn't mean they had to live in a pigsty. "Your car just needs a new battery." Beth sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness it's not something too serious," she said and she dropped on to the couch. Merle looked at her curiously for a moment before glancing at Daryl.

"Nice vest, Blondie," the older Dixon teased. Beth blushed for a moment but didn't hand over the vest.

"Thank you, I quite like it and Daryl told me I looked good in leather," she replied and Merle choked on his beer.

"Oh did he?" Merle shot a teasing look to his brother, who pointedly ignored him as he went to get himself a beer.

"Beth, would you like a drink? We got beer and Coke," Daryl offered from the kitchen.  _ **Ding!**_  "What the…?" Daryl asked as he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his and Beth's phones and the two sets of keys. Beth's phone lit up and gave another  _ **Ding!**_  "Uh…Beth?" he held up her phone and she jumped up from the couch to get it from him. Halfway to the kitchen she stopped and kicked off her heels making Daryl quirk an eyebrow at her, his face lifted in amusement as she made herself more comfortable in their apartment. She smiled and shrugged before taking her phone and keys from Daryl and reading the two texts, her smile widening.

"I no longer have to be at either of my jobs tomorrow so I will take a beer if it is a still an option, Mr. Dixon?"

"Indeed it is, Ms. Greene," he replied as he reopened the fridge and grabbed her a beer, easily popping the cap off and handing it to her. She took a sip and walked out of the Dixon apartment, leaving her shoes and the door open before she disappeared into her own apartment. The two brothers watched confused for a moment before Merle leaned back and looked at Daryl.

* * *

"So what happened today, Darylina?" he asked. Daryl gave him a brief explanation of Beth's story and Merle sobered quickly.

"Poor Blondie," he said softly. Daryl nodded slightly before seeing movement in Beth's apartment. She came into view wearing flannel pajama pants and a button up plaid shirt with his vest over it. Her long hair was braided over one shoulder and she closed up her apartment while taking a large swig of her beer. The blonde returned to the Dixon apartment and sat back down on the couch where Daryl joined her a moment later. Daryl noticed she had a silver photo frame in her hands, which she glanced at before handing it to him.

"It's the picture I was telling you about," she explained softly. He looked at it and smiled slightly at the happiness in the photo. Beth looked a lot like her mom, except for the blonde hair. He passed the picture to Merle who looked at it thoughtfully before placing it gently on the wooden coffee table between them.

"What was your mama's name, Blondie?" he asked.

"Annette Greene," Beth answered softly. Merle raised his beer into the air.

"To Mama Annette Greene, she raised one hell of a daughter if she can handle us Dixon men," Merle toasted. Daryl smiled and raised his beer as well.

"To my mama and Mama Dixon," Beth said as she raised hers, "Daryl told me about her. She'd be proud to know she had two gentlemen for sons." The two brothers were quiet for a moment before they leaned into clink their beers together and drink.

"I'm sorry about your mom," Beth told the two brothers before she took another drink. They nodded and looked at her.

"We're sorry about yours," they replied before taking another drink themselves.


	4. Chapter Four

The three of them sat in comfortable silence, their attention all on the crappy television show that Merle had been watching before Daryl and Beth had returned from the cemetery. Beth finished her beer before the two brothers and turned her attention to them, watching them curiously.

"So, what do you guys do for work?" Beth asked suddenly and the two brothers froze. Neither one had a legitimate job at the moment, though Daryl was positive Merle was selling drugs to pay for the booze and what little food they didn't hunt for. Again, neither had a legitimate job. Merle would not appreciate Daryl answering the question honestly, he knew that much. Pulling Beth into Merle's habits and situation was a risk for her and them. She would probably call the cops the minute she left.

"We're between jobs right now," Daryl told her. She tilted her head slightly but nodded her understanding. Her expression turned thoughtful before her eyes widened and she smiled brightly.

"My daddy's friend, Dale, runs a repair shop and last I heard he was needing some help! You know about cars, don't ya Merle? Maybe you could work there?" she asked and Merle leaned back in his chair.

"Nah, I've been working on getting something lined up. Besides, we won't be around too long. No since in starting a job," Merle told her. Daryl instantly wished he hadn't as Beth's face fell. She looked away, biting her lip, and Daryl could see darkness settling on her face. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit to see it on her normally bright face. Merle stood up and threw his beer bottle across the room. It landed in the trash can with a shatter and Merle smirked at his "goal" before leaving the room and closing himself in his bedroom.

"How long are you staying?" Beth asked softly and Daryl quickly finished his beer, hoping it would help him through this conversation.

"I honestly dunno," he replied tightly. Beth was quiet for a moment before she got up and walked her empty beer bottle to the trash can and dropped it in carefully. Daryl couldn't help but compare her graceful and careful movements to Merle's careless attitude.

"I should…" she started.

"The truth is…" Daryl started at the same time. They both stopped and stared at each other before he gestured for her to continue. She shook her head.

"I want to hear what you have to say first," she explained, as if she knew that he wanted to avoid the conversation.

"The truth is…" he started again before looking at Merle's closed door and feeling unsure if he could hear them through it or not. Beth followed his look before she nodded, making an uneasy feeling come over Daryl. He wasn't certain, but he had a feeling this girl knew what was going through his mind.

"Do you want to come and watch a movie with me?" she asked, startling Daryl. He eyed her skeptically for a moment before realizing what she was doing and nodding. Beth picked up her abandoned high heels and picture frame and led the way across the hall to her apartment. As soon as they were both in her apartment and the door was closed, she nodded for Daryl to continue. He ran a hand over his face and growled.

"I don't even know how to explain anything to you!" He growled out. Beth walked over to him, dropping her heels on the floor and setting the frame down carefully on a shelf as she passed it. She brought her hand out to touch Daryl's bicep and he flinched away from her, making her eyes go wide.

"You're alright," she told him softly before reaching out to touch him again. This time he stood still, but his body was tense. She gently laid her hands on both of his arms and rubbed small circles with her thumbs. Daryl slowly relaxed under her touch until they both felt the same comfort they had felt at the cemetery. Daryl hung his head, staring intently at the floor instead of the blonde in front of him. He smirked slightly seeing that she was still wearing his leather vest.

"I ain't ever gonna get that back, am I?" he asked her, his tone teasing as his eyes flitted to hers. She blushed and smiled.

"Whenever you want it, just say so. Until then, nope. Like I said earlier, I quite like it. Maybe I need to find one of my own to wear," she took one of her hands and ran it softly over the leather. "Before the whole situation earlier today…where were you and Merle going? Did I keep you from something?"

"We were just gonna go hunting for the weekend. Deer huntin'," he told her softly and Beth immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry to have ruined your plans."

"Nah, don' worry bout it." A flash of lightning in the distance was seen through the curtains and Daryl gestured to it. "Turns out there was a storm comin' in. He and I hadn't looked at the weather to have known that. Bein' out in the cemetery earlier and feelin the temperatures drop and the wind pick up was a sign of it comin. We woulda been out in the woods in it and prolly wouldn't have caught anything." He paused before adding, "'sides, I'd take your company over Merle's any day. The jackass." Beth chuckled softly. Daryl took a deep breath before continuing.

"The truth is, Beth…We drift. Merle and me. We don't keep jobs or a house. We just…drift. Merle…he does somethings you wouldn't approve of, hell nobody approves of 'em. He parties too much…sleeps around a lot…he's been quiet here lately, which is unsettling," Daryl frowned at the floor, his forehead creasing in thought. Beth watched silently, patiently waiting for him to get the words he wanted to say organized. "When Merle's done with whatever he's doin in the area, he moves on. I go with him cuz..."

"He's your brother," Beth filled in and he nodded. "I get it…" her voice grew softer and she looked down at the floor again, some unrecognizable emotion crossing her face.

"The truth is, though, Beth…I'm tired," Daryl confided quietly. Beth could barely hear him but thankfully their close proximity permitted her to still hear the words. "I'm tired of drifting…I don't wanna leave Merle…but…" Daryl sighed in frustration. "Where is this mechanic friend of yours? Merle's not the only one who knows his way around cars and I need something to do during the day," Daryl asked her and Beth quickly grabbed a notebook off the shelf next to her and tore out a page to write the information down on.

Daryl took his time to glance around the apartment and take in Beth's living quarters. He'd seen it before, on the first night they met, but his glance around had only been to see if someone else was there to take care of her. Now, however, he could see an organized clutter stacked around him. Everything was in piles of some sort, notebooks had colored tags on the binding, CDs were stacked and crisscrossed based on genre and singer, a small pile of video games for an Xbox 360 were stashed on the entertainment center next to the device. Headphones were curled up and twist tied together in piles on the desk and on any flat surface in the room. A pair of cowboy boots stood on a towel by the door with a pair of tennis shoes and flip-flops. Beth turned and watched him analyze her space; he saw her shift slightly and met her eyes.

"Got enough headphones?" he teased. She laughed.

"I lose them all the time," she explained, "and not everyone likes the same music as me so I need to always have a pair for when the music mood hits me…" she shifted again as he continued to glance around.

"You play Xbox?" he asked and Beth bit her lip.

"Not as much lately…I originally got it when…an ex and I were together. He liked playing games on it so I got one hoping it could be used for "bonding" time. Foolish really," she said quietly. "One good that came from it is that I get to relieve stress by playing  _Call of Duty_." She shrugged. Daryl felt questions piling up at the mention of her ex but he also felt a hint of anger and something else. Her somber attitude made him think that the ex she mentioned hadn't treated her well and that made him angry. He couldn't place the other emotion though. He didn't like the idea of another guy being with her.  _Am I…jealous? No, that's impossible, I have no reason to be jealous. Beth is just a friend. My first friend._  Beth's eyes glanced at Daryl and he could see her discomfort with the topic. He looked back at the console and smirked.

One of Merle's "friends" had owned an Xbox 360 and the three of them had played  _Call of Duty_  several times. He had gotten quite good at playing the zombies mode and told Beth such. She smiled before shooting him a challenging look.

"Alright, let's play. I'll bet I can beat you," she challenged and Daryl smirked. "On top of that, let's make a drinking game out of it!" Daryl snorted and shot her an amused look. "What?"

"I've never had ta play a game ta get lit before," he told her and Beth laughed.

"How bout every time we survive a round, we take a drink? If we die, we have to do a shot?" Beth asked and Daryl shrugged.

"Sounds like you'll be wasted pretty quick," Daryl told her confidently. Beth narrowed her eyes, her smile widening before she disappeared into her kitchen and returned with various bottles of alcohol. "Damn girl, got enough choices?"

"My daddy doesn't know about these…" she told him. "He was an alcoholic when I was little. Mama got tired of it pretty quickly and threatened to take me, Maggie, and Shawn from him if he didn't clean up. He doesn't allow us to have any alcohol whenever he's around so we have to hide whatever we have before he comes to visit. Some friends threw a party and this is what they had left over. I haven't ever even tried any of these before." Daryl grabbed a couple of the bottles and looked at them. One was a bottle of rum but the other was a bottle of Peach Schnapps. His eyes narrowed at the bottle and he stomped into the kitchen with the bottle. Beth set the other bottles down and hurried to join him

"What? Do you not like Peach Schnapps?"

"Hell nah, it's nasty," he told her as he poured the bottle's contents down the sink. "A'right, let's kill some zombies."

It hit round eighteen and Daryl was feeling the effects of the drinks he had consumed so far. Beth was amazing at the game, he couldn't deny. She turned out to be an excellent zombie killer in the game and had helped cover his ass when he ran out of ammo and the mystery box gave him a crap weapon. He glanced at Beth as the round ended and saw her cheeks were red from the alcohol. Her eyes were bright and he felt a tug in his gut at the sight of her vibrant smile.

"I'm not doing too bad, am I?" she asked him and he laughed at the slight slur to her voice. She looked at him for a moment, her expression turning thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure I'm drunk," she told him, making him laugh again.

"Sweetheart, you are beyond drunk," he laughed out, "and yea, it turns out you are pretty good. But we are only on round nineteen now, which is better then I expected you to last. If you wanna prove to me how good you can play, we should prolly stop drinking. If we don't, you'll be passed out before one of us dies." Beth leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment and he paused the game as the next round started.

"You're right," she agreed before picking her head back up and looking up at him. Daryl's eyes drifted from Beth's eyes to the leather vest she was wearing and back up to her lips. Beth's eyes widened slightly before drifting to his lips and biting her own. Darryl shook his head and leaned back slightly. "You ready for round nineteen?" she asked and Daryl nodded, grateful that she was ignoring the awkward moment they had almost shared. "It's a shame they don't have a crossbow on this game. I bet you'd be in heaven with it." Daryl chuckled and turned back to the game to resume their level.

They managed to make it until round twenty-one before Beth died after she had been swarmed and ran out of ammo. Daryl had tried to get to her and save her but it cost him his life. They had quit drinking at the end of each round but had continued consuming drinks leisurely and both were pretty smashed. Beth stood up and swayed greatly, making Daryl have to reach up and hold her steady. She laughed and collapsed back on the couch beside him.

"I've had a great time today," she told him as she leaned heavily against him. Daryl relaxed into the couch cushions and laughed.

"Girl, you cannot hold your liquor," he teased and she chuckled tiredly against him.

"You're not doing much better," she poked back. "You should see me after drinking moonshine," she mumbled as her eyes closed. Daryl heard her breathing deepen and he sighed heavily. He knew he should move her to her bed and leave but he was comfortable. That baffled him because he hated having other people in his personal space. Something about the petite blonde leaning against him changed that. He leaned more comfortably into the cushions and closed his eyes.

 _I am so over my head right now…_  he thought before sleep claimed his alcohol-addled body.


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl sighed as he stripped off his oil covered clothes and jumped into the hot spray of his shower, the heat feeling amazing after working in the winter air. He had been working at Dale's shop for almost a month now and he could honestly say he loved it. Dale was an older man with a hell of a sense of humor that came out in tiny moments while they ate or while they were working. He was also incredibly wise and perceptive, picking up on little things in Daryl's body language and talking to him about things he had gone through in his life. At first, the stories and knowing looks bothered Daryl.

Hell, he was certain he would be jobless after one particular day when Dale got too close to Daryl's childhood in a conversation and Daryl had cussed him out. But Dale had leaned back in his seat, let him yell out his frustrations and anger, and then told him to get back to work. There were a couple of other guys that worked in the shop, T-Dog, Tyreese, and Abraham, but Daryl was not as friendly with them as he was with Dale. He  _definitely_  wasn't close to Abraham. The redhead pissed Daryl off more than Merle did, and that was saying something.

Daryl rinsed the shampoo out of his hair and frowned. Merle had been going to more parties lately. In fact, Daryl was lucky if he saw him once a week now. When he did see his older brother, he was tripped and lit and dragging a girl who was probably in worse shape than he was into his bedroom. One time that Merle did this, he had tried to get Beth to join them for a hit and a fuck. The look of fear, embarrassment, and concern on her face had Daryl wanting to leave and never return. He had been so sure that she would call the police on them and then refuse to ever see him again. Beth had sat in silence on their couch, the movie still playing but her eyes were staring blankly at the wall. Daryl closed his eyes as he remembered the strange look that had covered her face before she stood up. He had assumed she was going to leave and had jumped up, apologies flying out of his mouth as he tried to talk to her. She had stood there silently watching him before smiling softly and gesturing to her apartment.

"I don't really wanna hear what they're gonna be doin, you wanna finish the movie at my place?" her question had taken him by surprise so he nodded mutely. After that night, it had become a habit for the two of them to eat dinner together either out on the town or in her apartment before sitting on her couch and doing whatever they wanted or needed to do. Most of the time, he sat and watched as she wrote music or played guitar. Sometimes they watched some television show she enjoyed or a movie.

Daryl shut off the water and wrapped his towel around his hips as he thought about what the two of them would do for dinner that night. He had just gotten paid that day and was really tempted to take her out for a nice dinner on him. Beth had become a light for him in the darkness of his life. She had helped him become stabilized and for the first time, he actually felt happy. He had a home, a job, steady income, and a friend. A best friend, if he was honest. He smiled slightly at the thought and quickly dried off and dressed in his long sleeve button up and jeans so that he could get over to Beth's and whisk her off to dinner.

He paused in the door way of his apartment as he realized he didn't know if she was working late or not. Daryl sighed as he ran his hand through his long hair. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled his cell phone out and pressed the one button. His phone automatically dialed Beth's cell and he held it to his ear as it rang. On the third ring, he heard it pick up and smiled.

" _Hey, it's Beth. I'm sorry I missed you, just leave me a message and I'll get back to ya as soon as I can!"_

His smile dropped as a weight developed in his stomach. In the two or three weeks he had actually owned a cell phone and had gotten the blonde's number, this was the first time he had ever gotten her voicemail. The rational part of his mind kept telling him that she was fine and probably busy with work. Another part of his mind began jumping to conclusions. Maybe she was hurt or in an accident? He shook his head and hung up, deciding to knock on her door to see if she was home anyways. After he knocked a couple of times and waited, he realized she wasn't inside either. He sighed and trudged back into his apartment and collapsed on the couch, flipping his TV on but leaving the door open so he could see when she got home.

"It's a cold night tonight," the weather man announced as he gestured to the temperatures on the screen. "The Sun's gone down and already the temps have dropped to the low 40's, upper 30's." Soft footsteps made their way slowly up the stairs and Daryl shut the TV off, jumping up to greet the blonde. He walked to his doorway, puzzled at what was taking her so long to get up the stairs. Ragged breathing and coughing met his ears before she came into view. Blonde bangs stuck to her sweat covered pale forehead. Her nose was red and she was breathing heavily out of her mouth, coughs interrupting her breathing every couple of seconds. While he still found himself thinking she was beautiful, he couldn't help but notice how  _awful_  she looked at the same time. Her thin arms were exposed and red from the cold air of outside, his leather vest hung awkwardly off of one of her shoulders, and her clothes were rumpled. Her blue eyes were glazed when they met his and her smile was weak when she gave it.

"Hey," she whispered before coughing into her hand. "I'm alright…I just forgot my coat today."

"Jesus, Beth, its cold out there," he chided as he went down the steps and helped her up them as she coughed heavily into her hand. His hand found her arm and he recoiled at the freezing touch of it. He moved his hand to her forehead and cursed at the fever he could feel.

"I felt a little off this morning when I went to work…but as the day went on, I started to feel worse…and my ride ditched me at the diner so I walked home. I'll be okay," she murmured as she leaned into his body. He held his hand out for her keys and she dropped them into his open palm.

"You shoulda called me, I woulda come and got ya," he told her pointedly.

"I didn't want to bother you. Besides, it's not that far," she weakly protested.

"The diner's on the other side of town, Beth!" He growled as he helped her get into her apartment. "Now, go take a hot shower, get into your warmest pajamas. I'll call and get some soup delivered or somethin'." Beth nodded and slipped his vest off her shoulders, placing it gently on her computer chair as she kicked off her shoes and started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Jesus, Beth! Go to your bedroom and do that!" Daryl yelled as he quickly covered his eyes, a blush burning his cheeks. Beth squeaked out an apology before practically dashing into her room and closing the door. Daryl let out a sigh before going to where he knew Beth kept the phonebook stashed and unburied it from the pile of notes and music to search for a restaurant that would deliver a dinner of soups.

Beth sighed as she stepped under the hot spray of the shower. She had originally just wanted to get into her pj's and lay around. The idea of showering seemed to take too much energy and she found she just didn't have it in her to do it but Daryl's pushing had convinced her. Now she didn't wanna get out of it. She was warm for the first time all day and her muscles were relaxing after shivering for so long had tensed them. But her head felt foggy and she felt miserable and tired. She rushed through shampooing her hair and rinsing it out before turning off the water and wrapping herself into her large fluffy towels.

Heat filled her cheeks as she heard Daryl moving around in her living room and she remembered that she had been blearily rushing out of her clothes in front of him.  _How embarrassing_ , she thought,  _how many times will I embarrass myself in front of him?_  Beth felt her shivers returning and hurried to dry herself and dress in her thick flannel pajamas. She could hear another voice join Daryl's and then the door closing as whoever it was left. Beth looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and sighed. One look into her eyes and you could tell how miserable and sick she felt. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun and stepped out of her bathroom, pulling on her thick bath robe and slipper socks before joining Daryl in the living room.

"Uh uh, you turn right back around and get into bed. I'll bring dinner to you," he ordered and Beth smiled softly.

"Daryl, I'm fine. It's just a cold."

"You've got a fever and you're shivering. Get into bed." He ordered again and Beth huffed before turning and climbing into her bed. Daryl followed behind her carrying a bag of to go food and a cup. "Have you got any medicine for this?" he asked her as he set everything down on the edge of her bed and walked into her bathroom to look into her medicine cabinet. Beth sighed as she began warming up again in her blankets.

"Yea, there should be some fever reducers and some cold and flu stuff in there," she answered as she yawned. She could hear Daryl mutter something and sat up, mortified when she recalled stashing a few of her loose tampons in the medicine cabinet.  _He's a grown man, surely he can handle the sight of a couple of tampons,_ she thought as a smile stretched across her face as she tried to imagine the look of discomfort he might have when he saw them. She was pulled from her thoughts when the sound of the cabinet door closed and the hunter stepped back into her room. His cheeks were slightly pink as he maneuvered the food containers so that he could sit beside her.

"Here," he grumbled as he dropped some medicine into her hand and handed her the cup. "It's Sprite. Isn't that the stuff people drink to feel better?" he asked, uncertainty showing on his face. Beth smiled and chuckled slightly, nodding as she dropped the pills into her mouth and swallowed them with some Sprite. Beth had to admit that the shower and curling up into her blankets had already made her feel much better but if she was completely honest, sitting in bed with Daryl helped her more than the pills probably would.

A fluttering in her stomach made Beth freeze. The last time she had felt that had been before her and Zach had started dating.  _Am I…developing feelings for Daryl?_ She asked incredulously. She eyed the man next to her as he set up a tray with soup and sandwiches on it so that they could enjoy their dinner together like they always did. There was no denying the man was attractive, she had outright told him so in a drunken stupor on the first day they had met. He had become a great friend over the past month and a half and she trusted him more than her sister with somethings. He knew her work schedules and they spent nearly every night together just hanging out and eating.

In fact, he had opened up a lot to her. Talking vaguely about his childhood or stories of things he and Merle had done. Merle. Beth shook her head with a smile on her face. The older Dixon was certainly a character. The night he had come home drunk and high had been a confusing one for her. She never agreed with drugs and normally avoided people who had anything to do with them. She had been so confused after Merle had tried to talk her into going into his room to shoot up and "fuck" as he had called it. If she did what she normally did by avoiding people who do drugs that meant she would have had to avoid Daryl since he was always around Merle. Even back then, Beth realized, her heart had told her that she couldn't do that. She couldn't avoid her newest friend.

That was why she had decided to ignore Merle's antics and pretend it had never happened. Merle Dixon and Daryl Dixon were two very different people. She couldn't push both of them away because one of them lived more loosely than she did. She really enjoyed her time with Merle, when he was sober or only drunk. When he was high, though, she learned he became crude, racist, and even sexist depending on his mood.

"Beth?" Daryl's voice brought Beth out of her thoughts, his face concerned as his hand touched her forehead to feel her fever.

"I'm okay. Sorry, I was just thinking." He frowned and stood up again.

"Do you have a thermometer?" he asked and Beth sighed.

"Yes but Daryl, I'm alright now. I'm warm in my blankets and dinner is getting cold," she told him. He stood beside her bed for a moment, shifting awkwardly before he nodded and sat beside her on the bed and the two began to eat their soup and sandwiches in comfortable silence.

"This wasn't my original idea of dinner," Daryl started and Beth felt a pang of guilt. "I was thinking of treatin' ya to a nice sit down somewhere of your choosing. As a thank you." Daryl cleared his throat awkwardly and Beth smiled.

"I'm sorry to have ruined your plans, but if I had to choose between this and a nice restaurant, I wouldn't care. So long as I'm spending time with you." Daryl's cheeks tinged again and he looked away, discomfort battling with relief in his stomach. "You don't have to do something so grand to thank me, Daryl. I haven't done anything to deserve your thanks anyways. If anything, I need to thank you. On top of letting me steal and keep your leather vest, which you can have back whenever you want, you've also given me a form of stability in my life. Before we met, I…ya know, it's not important. You've given me a source of strength. I feel stronger around you." Daryl's eyebrow rose, curiosity evident in his eyes as Beth started to talk about how things were for her before they met but changed her mind. It appeared to Daryl, at that moment, that maybe he wasn't the only one running away from something. He shook his head and focused on what she was saying.

"I ain't done anythin' though," he told her. Beth shrugged.

"I think you have…" Beth ate another spoonful of soup before freezing as a wave of nausea rolled in her stomach. She quickly lifted the tray off her lap and climbed over Daryl to beeline for the toilet as her stomach heaved and she threw up her dinner, barely making it in time. Daryl's hands rested gently on her back and waist as she heaved. Shivers shook her body and Daryl could feel her fever burning his skin through her pajamas. He cursed and grabbed a wash cloth, dampened it under the cool water of the sink, and applied it gently to her forehead. When she was done, she took the wash cloth and used it to wipe her mouth with a groan.

"Alrigh', looks like you're goin on a liquid diet. Maybe some crackers," Daryl muttered to the sick blonde in front of him. "Come on, up ya get." Beth stood up and leaned her shivering body against Daryl's. He cleaned the food tray and containers off her bed and helped tuck her in to the quilts.

"Not much of a cold now, is it?" he asked, a teasing glint in his eyes as he tried to lighten Beth's mood.

"Guess not," she mumbled into the blankets.

"A'righ…uh…get some sleep?" Daryl mumbled, his statement coming out as more of an awkward question than as a sentence. He ran his hands over his jeans before shifting and scratching the back of his head. "Yea, I'll leave you to it…"

"Daryl?" Beth asked, her voice scratchy but heavy as sleep began to take over.

"Yea, Beth?"

"Was tonight supposed to have been…a date?" Daryl's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"No," he answered quickly. The more he thought about it though, the more the idea of going on a date with the blonde in front of him pleased him.  _She'd never go for a dumbass redneck like you_ , he thought bitterly.

"Oh, ok. Thank you taking care of me," she replied.  _Is she disappointed that it wasn't going to have been a date?_  He thought before shaking his head.

"No…uh, no problem. Get better, let me know if you need anything…" Daryl glanced once more at the blonde in front of him before backing out of the room and pacing in the living room.


	6. Chapter 6

A couple of days passed before Beth felt well enough to leave her apartment and in those days, Daryl had stopped by to check on her frequently. He came by before work and after to see if she needed anything and to enjoy a warm bowl of soup for dinner. It had been many years since Beth had last had someone to check on her while she was sick. Then again, the last time she had actually been as ill as she had been a couple of days ago, she had been in high school and her mother had been around to take care of her.

A knock on the door roused Beth from her thoughts and she smiled. Judging by the time, it should be Daryl coming to check on her after work, even though she had told him that morning that she was feeling much better. The blonde walked happily to the door, pulling it open with a big smile on her face.

"Daryl, I told you…" she started before her eyes widened before her eyes widened at the person in front of her. "Oh…"

"Uh, hey, Beth." Daryl's door opened and Beth's eyes met his. His eyes seemed to rake over her before going to the guy standing at her door. His face darkened and he quirked an eyebrow at her as if asking  _'is everything okay?'_

"Can I come in?" Beth froze at the question before grabbing her keys and walking out of her apartment and locking it up.

"No, sorry, Jimmy, I was just leaving. Are you ready?" she asked Daryl before pulling him down the stairs.

"Beth, it's important!" Jimmy hollered from behind them. Beth sighed before turning and facing her ex-boyfriend.

"I don't think there is anything important you need to tell me, Jimmy. I'm sorry, but no. Please leave and don't come back." Beth turned back around and walked outside. Daryl eyed the exit before eyeing Jimmy.

"You her new boyfriend or something?" Jimmy asked nervously. Daryl kept his face blank and gave a "hmm" as a response. The kid in front of him could take it as a yes or a no, he didn't care which one but he definitely didn't like the look of him. Something in his eyes just gave Daryl the urge to punch him. "That's cool, man. Listen though…just a heads up. She gets clingy. Really possessive. She'd flip on me whenever I went out with friends from work or something. That's all I'm gonna say on it." Daryl frowned.

"If she's so clingy, why the hell are you here?" he asked angrily and Jimmy shifted his weight, feeling uncomfortable. Daryl smirked, "I get the feeling it wasn't Beth who was possessive in your relationship, it was you." He stalked up into Jimmy's space and glared down his nose at him. "If I find out you ever hurt her, you'll wish we had never met. Am I clear?" He turned and left the building, finding Beth huddled in her light sweater with his vest on top of it outside his truck waiting for him.

"Dammit girl, you just got over bein' sick! You need something heavier than my vest and a sweater out here!" he admonished. He knew saying it made him a hypocrite since he was only in a long sleeve shirt but he didn't care. Beth scowled at him as he unlocked the doors and they climbed into the truck.

"Well forgive me that the need to leave was so abrupt that I didn't think about grabbing a coat," she argued.

"You remembered my vest," he pointed out as he turned on the truck and bumped the heat up, making Beth blush and mumble something. "What was that?" he asked, his smirk growing as she glared at him.

"I never take it off…" she repeated making Daryl sputter and look at her. "Well, I take it off when I sleep and when work requires it but otherwise, I'm always wearing it…I think I may give it back to you for a bit though…" Daryl cleared his throat and focused on backing the truck out of its parking spot.

"Nah, I said you could keep it until I needed it," he started. The truth was, he missed that vest like he had never missed anything else. It was an extra piece of armor for him, but  _damn_  did he like seeing her wear it.

"It doesn't smell like you anymore." Beth interrupted, making Daryl stare at her in surprise. He quickly refocused on the road.

"You tryin' ta say I stink?" he asked, trying to lighten the uncomfortable feeling he was getting.

"If you stunk, I woulda given it right back to you the minute I could," she countered with a smile. "No, you smell of the woods," she explained calmly. Beth clenched her hands into fists so that he couldn't see the way her nerves were making her shake with this bold conversation. One glance at Daryl told her this conversation was making him extremely uncomfortable.

"How about we go grab dinner at the diner?" she asked, watching as his face relaxed before he snorted.

"We ain't havin' dinner at your work place. No, I've got an idea already." Beth nodded before turning her eyes to look out the window.

"You...wanna talk 'bout who that was?" the question caught her off guard, though she didn't know why. She expected his curiosity would overwhelm him at some point and the question would come out.

"Not really," she answered guiltily. She could see how that answer affected the man driving as his shoulders tensed and a look of rejection crossed his face. "No, it's not like that, Daryl. I trust you. I trust you a hell of a lot more than  _him_." She sighed heavily and Daryl nodded, his lips in a tight line.

"He tried to warn me away from you," he told her as he pulled the truck into the parking lot of a nice restaurant. Beth's eyes narrowed as she turned to face Daryl, waiting for him to explain. He turned off the truck and looked at her, his eyes unreadable. "He said you were possessive," Beth scoffed darkly and leaned against the window. "I told him since he was the one coming to you, that it was more likely he was the possessive one." Beth's eyes widened but she didn't turn to face him.

"What makes you come to the conclusion?"

"I'm observant. And I know you." He answered simply. Beth took a deep breath.

"We were friends in high school. Well, maybe not  _friends_  exactly. We had a couple of classes together as sophomores. Then when…mama died…I dropped out. Only for a bit to help my daddy with the farm and to help him work through it. He got back into drinkin' after the funeral…so I stayed home a lot and helped him. It helped me push through the guilt and pain to focus on him and the farm. Jimmy found out and offered to help us out when he could for free. He said it didn' feel right asking for money or nothin' while we were grieving. Maggie wanted to come home from school to help us out too but I told her we were doin okay. She didn't need to see daddy like that again.

"Despite her young age, she still remembers some of when daddy had been drinking last time. I didn't wanna resurface all that, ya know? When daddy got back on his feet, he pushed me back into school. I took summer school to catch up so that I could still graduate on time. But Jimmy still helped us after school and everything. Then one day, Jimmy and I were taking the horses out to graze and he asked me out. I didn't know how I felt about him but he was sweet and funny, understanding when I needed a break or time to grieve…so I said yes." Beth sighed and ran a hand through her ponytail. Daryl sat in silence, watching and taking in everything she had to share.

"We graduated and I took up full time work with the farm and daddy's vet clinic and Jimmy insisted he keep helpin' us even though I knew he had dreams to leave our small town. I thought it was romantic. I was grateful that my feelings for him had grown after everything. We dated for a year when he just…changed. He wanted to be around all the time, askin daddy if he could move into the farm house with us. He got mad whenever I would go hang out with other friends and he wasn't invited or couldn't come.

"He started to just get so angry and after a bit, daddy told him he couldn't come back to the farm or be around me…." She huffed and readjusted in her seat. "The rest isn't too important. We had our family friend, he's the sheriff in my hometown, come and talk to Jimmy and escort him off the land. I moved out here and haven't seen him since. Until today, that is…" Daryl had a feeling Beth hadn't told him everything but he accepted what she had shared knowing that whenever she was ready, she would fill in the blanks. Beth sighed again before looking at Daryl. "I'm sorry, can we just…go eat now?"

"Ain't nothin to apologize for. Come on," he replied before climbing out of the truck and holding the restaurant door open for her.

Beth felt awkward as she sat down in the booth across from Daryl. She had never wanted to see Jimmy, or any of her ex's for that matter, again. She seemed to be a magnet for bad guys; guys with addictions or issues that they liked to try and involve other people in or take out on them. Her eyes scanned Daryl's face and body. His build and appearance made him look like a "bad guy" but she had known him for a while now. They spent almost every minute they weren't working with each other and Beth knew she would trust Daryl in any situation but there was a darkness in him and to be honest, she didn't  _really_  know him. She didn't know what his childhood was like other than a few stories he had shared about his mother and Merle. He never talked about his father though. She had always wanted to ask but couldn't ever find a way to do so.

"How old are you?" she blurted a second after her brain realized it didn't even know that bit of information about him. Daryl was surprised by the question; Beth was too if she was honest. The question had no tact in it what so ever and she hadn't even thought about asking him. She had just realized she didn't know and out it spilled, like word vomit. Daryl shrugged as the waiter came up and took their drink orders and he told him sweet tea for the both of them. After the first week or so of the two of them eating dinner together, they had realized they liked most of the same foods and preferred sweet tea with their dinner. Beth had also noticed little patterns to the way Daryl ate his food.

The man was fond of meat, not that Beth could blame him. She had tried becoming a vegetarian when she was in high school but her mama's beef stew and her daddy's deer jerky had ended that pretty quickly. Daryl almost always ordered a steak or a hamburger whenever they ate out. Most people would eat the fries or sides first, but Beth had noticed he ate the steak or burger first. He would pour steak sauce or ketchup or whatever condiment he felt like that day, in a pattern on his food. The same zig-zag pattern every time. Then he would use a fork or a French fry to spread the sauce evenly over the food. It was meticulous and, at first, amusing. Now it was just something Daryl did that she enjoyed watching. Daryl's eyes met hers and she blushed at having been caught staring.

 _My mind is all over the place! Focus!_ She mentally screamed at herself.

"I 'unno," he answered with a shrug. Beth frowned.  _How do you not know how old you are?_

"How old is Merle?" Daryl looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Forty-nine, I think. We never celebrated birthdays," he told her, his shoulders tensing with the last part of his answers.

"How much older than you is Merle?" Again, he looked thoughtful.

"He was tried as an adult and put in prison when I was maybe around ten or so and I have a vague memory of my old man saying something about us being ten years apart, so that I'll go with. I guess that would make me around thirty eight or thirty nine. Why?"

"I just realized I didn't know how old you are," she answered before taking a sip of her tea as it was put down in front of her.

"How much older than you is Maggie?"

"Maggie's six years older than me, so she's twenty-eight." Daryl opened his mouth to ask another question right as their waiter asked if they were ready to order and Daryl's cell phone rang. Beth told the waiter to give them a few more minutes while Daryl glared at his phone.

"It's Merle," he explained before answering. "What do ya need, Merle?" Beth couldn't hear Merle's side of the conversation but she could tell from Daryl's face that it wasn't good.

"Right now? I'm out with…" Beth could hear shouting and Daryl sat up straighter. "I'll be there in a minute," he hung up and glanced at Beth. "Merle's in a tight spot and I need to go get him…"

"That's okay, I'll come with you," she interrupted as she gathered her keys and put money for the teas on the table.

"Beth, it ain't gonna be safe." He told her firmly. Beth squared her jaw.

"Then you'll need someone to help you. Come on," she countered as she stood and walked towards the door. Daryl sighed before following.

"You stay in the truck, alrigh'? Keep your head down, don' let anyone see ya. Am I clear?" Beth opened her mouth to argue with him that she'd be okay and didn't need him to worry but the look in his eyes made her stop. She nodded and climbed into the truck. Daryl sped the truck through the town, the tension inside the truck making Beth feel on edge. Clearly Daryl knew where they were going and who they were dealing with. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and he was forcing deep breaths in and out of his body. He slowed the truck down and pulled it into a dark driveway.

"Keep down and don't get out of this truck no matter what. No matter what you hear. You understand me, Beth? I can't focus out there if you do anything to risk yourself. I can't, won't be able to handle it if something happens to you."

"Okay, Daryl. Please be careful," she begged him while she unbuckled and lowered herself to the floor board of the truck. Fear clutched at Beth's heart and she felt her body tremble as she took in the dark look in Daryl's eyes. His eyes widened slightly at her concern before nodding and climbing out of the truck. Beth could hear his footsteps getting quieter and then the slam of a door opening.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Littler Dixon brother," a male voice with a Spanish accent to it called out. Beth shivered at the sound of it.

"Where's Merle, Martinez?" she heard Daryl growl.

"Merle's inside. You see, he thought he could get away with keeping some of his sales. Called it a bonus."

"So? He never left with it, you still have it. Let 'im go."

"Now, you know we can't do that. The thing with Merle is, as you know I'm sure, is that you can beat on him all day and he won't care. There's only three things in this world that Merle Dixon cares about, but we can only use two of them as punishment for him." Beth could hear the door slam open again and a struggle taking place. She could hear Merle cussing and yelling, his speech slurred. Beth couldn't tell if it was slurred because he was drunk or if it was because of an injury.

"One of those things that Merle cares about, is his drugs. We can't do much about that. But one of the two things he cares about that we can use, he called here himself. That's you, Daryl. I was surprised you were stupid enough to come. But here's the real kicker. Merle told us about a special lady friend of yours and apparently he's quite fond of the…what'd you call her, Merle? Right, Little Spitfire. This gal's gotta be something special if Merle approves of you and her goin at it every night. You know how he's all about the one night gals." Beth froze in her spot in the truck. She heard a growl come from Daryl and could practically feel the ice of the glare he had on this Martinez.

"You leave her outta this. She's got no part in any of it," he growled out. There was silence for a moment before laughter echoed in the darkness around Beth.

"The girl must be a good 'un if you're so protective of her. Now, I happened to have overheard part of your conversation with Merle on the phone. If I recall right, you were telling him you were out with the little lady friend tonight. Shumpert, go check the truck. See if you can find out what makes this girly so special. If she's in there, bring her out to meet the crew." Beth's heart stopped. She could hear footsteps approaching the truck.

"You stay the fuck away from 'er!" she heard Daryl yell and then all she could hear was chaos of a fight breaking out. She only knew of Martinez and whoever had drug Merle out of the house but from the sounds of it, the two brothers were greatly outnumbered. Beth searched as quietly as she could for a weapon of some sort inside the truck but found nothing except a pen. Her eyes flew to the glove box behind her shoulder and quietly crawled to the middle of the truck so that she could open it. The driver side door suddenly flew open behind her and hands grabbed a hold of her shirt, dragging her out of the truck. She let out a yelp as her body crashed to the gravel driveway before hands pulled her roughly to her feet and a knife went to her throat.

"You boys may wanna stop what you're doing now," the accented voice, Martinez as Daryl had called him, shouted from behind Beth. Her eyes landed on Daryl and Merle, both instantly stopping what they were doing at the sight of her.

"Let her go, Martinez. She's got nothin' to do with any of this," Daryl ordered through heavy breaths that crystallized in the cold air, his eyes never leaving Beth's. Martinez tightened his hold on her, jerking her arm painfully behind her back and digging the knife into her skin. Beth let out a gasp in pain and Daryl stepped forward threateningly. His eyes showed a rage Beth had never seen before in him. It almost terrified her to see it. "If you hurt her, I'm gonna…"

"Gonna do what?" Martinez interrupted. Beth's eyes flew to Merle's as she quickly glanced him over, relief covering her face when she saw that he wasn't  _too_  beat up. Merle's eyes were full of guilt and anger.

"Come on, man, let 'er go," Merle argued as he began to slowly advance on Martinez. Beth could see Daryl inching his way to one of the other henchmen who was closest to him and she smiled. Her smile dropped when she saw two of Martinez's guys coming up behind Merle and Daryl and her eyes widened.

"Look out!" she warned. The brothers turned and were immediately tackled to the ground. Beth watched in horror as the two men of Martinez's beat the shit out of the two brothers before pinning them down. Martinez shoved Beth to her knees in front of the brothers, his hold on her arm tight and the angle he held it in was painful, making tears come to her eyes.

"Now, Merle, we're gonna teach you a lesson. Nobody tries to steal from the Governor and gets away with it. Since beatin' on you didn't teach ya, I guess we'll just have to use your brother and…what's your name, Girly?" Beth bit her lip and closed her eyes, terror coursing through her body. She heard Martinez lower himself to kneel behind her and jumped when the cold edge of the knife dug into her collarbone, making her whimper as the blade dug in enough to cut her skin. "I asked you a question."

Beth could hear the two brothers struggling, cussing, and yelling but everything was becoming hazy for her. All she could focus on was the cold air and the knife as it dug into her skin.

"B-Beth….m-my name is B-Beth," she answered him as her teeth chattered from the cold and the terror coursing through her.

"Well now, Beth, that's a pretty name for a pretty girl like you. How bout you tell the boys to stop their struggling or I'll cut you up real good," Martinez told her as he smirked at the brothers, who instantly stilled at his words. "While you're at it, why don't you tell them how scared you must be? This is, after all, all their fault that you're in this situation." Beth shook her head as tears forced their way down her face, her eyes remaining tightly shut.

"TELL THEM!" Martinez yelled and Beth flinched from the sound of it. She could feel the knife knick her again and the warmth of blood running down from the open cuts on her neck and collarbone.

"No," she forced out between her clenched teeth. Her eyes opened and glanced between the two  _very_  pissed off Dixon brothers. Daryl's eyes seemed to have hardened even more as he watch the blood trickle down into her shirt. Martinez laughed.

"No? Are you suddenly feeling brave, Beth?" Daryl tried to throw the guy off of his back but the guy anticipated his movement and slammed his head into the ground hard enough to make his vision darken before he blinked it away. This only pissed Merle off more. The two brothers' eyes met Beth's and she smiled through her tears at them.

"No, I'm not brave, but you just pissed off the two people you should never have pissed off," she told Martinez, her eyes going to his. "They're gonna kick your ass."


	7. Chapter 7

_"Now, Bethy, I know you really like that boy but I don't like how he's been talkin' to you or lookin' at you," her father told her one evening. Beth scoffed but smiled at her dad, hearing the concern in his voice._

_"Daddy, Jimmy would never hurt me." She explained but she could still see some doubt and concern in her father's eyes._

_"Just in case, I want you to take some self-defense lessons from Sheriff Grimes or Officer Walsh," he told her as he scooped out a spoon of mashed potatoes for her. "Promise me, you'll do it, Bethy. To protect you. While there are good people in the world, there are also bad people and you need to be able to protect yourself."_

_"Alright, daddy. I'll call Sheriff Grimes after dinner and set something up._

Beth's eyes moved back to Daryl's while Martinez and his men laughed. Martinez pulled Beth off the ground and wrapped his arms around her in a choke hold.

"I'll admit, the Dixons are a tough breed. I've seen these two fight before tonight. The boys holdin' them though, Beth? They're tougher. Those boys aren't goin anywhere and if they're smart, they won't try anything while you're here. They wouldn't wanna risk your life, now would they?" Martinez taunted. Daryl growled and struggled to fight the guy holding him down off. Martinez had a point. Daryl didn't want to risk Beth getting anymore injured then she already was and the guy holding him had a hell of a hold on him. No matter what he did, he couldn't get free. He could tell Merle was having the same issue.

This pissed Daryl off even more. He had never struggled to get out of a hold before. He met Beth's eyes again and he saw her look at how Martinez was standing behind her. A calculating look came over her face before she smiled at him and winked.

 _What the hell…_  he thought and then Beth moved. Her hand shot up and grabbed Martinez's elbow as she stepped around his legs to his right, ducking down as she did and pulling his elbow up behind his back. She delivered a quick kick to the back of his right knee and elbowed him in the head as he went down. Her face brightened as she saw how successful her move was and how flawlessly she remembered to execute it. Daryl felt a surge of pride take over the rage and fear he had been feeling. The guy who was holding him was surprised by Beth's actions and his grip loosened. Daryl took the opportunity, breaking free of the hold and hitting him hard enough upside the head to knock him out cold.

Merle broke free as well, using Beth's escape as a distraction like Daryl had. Daryl turned to make sure Beth was okay and saw her bolting into the thick trees around them, away from the fight.

" _As soon as you get free, you run!"_  Rick's voice echoed in her head and Beth did exactly that, hoping beyond all hope that the Dixon brothers could handle it from there. She really didn't want to leave them behind, but she remembered Daryl's words from the truck.

" _I can't focus out there if you do anything to risk yourself. I can't, won't be able to handle it if something happens to you."_

Daryl watched as Merle grabbed a gun from one of the guys and began shooting all of the guys around him. He focused back on the fight, taking down another guy. A kick in the back nearly sent him to the ground but he managed to keep his balance and turned to face his opponent. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Martinez getting up and running in a different direction then Beth. Another gun shot and the guy in front of Daryl collapsed followed swiftly by another shot and Martinez. Once all of the guys were down, Daryl turned on Merle.

"What the fuck were you thinkin, Merle? Tryin' to steal drug money like that!"

"I wanted the extra cash, I've been thinking it's time we moved on and knew we would need it!" Merle yelled back before he paced angrily in front of his brother. "But no one else knew I was here so no one will know it was us. You can go back to living in your little fairy tale world where Ms. Blonde thing is yours forever and you can live happily ever after! Why the fuck did you bring her here?!" Daryl growled. He had been asking himself the same damn question. He could have left her at the restaurant and told her to call for a ride, but that would make him feel guilty and it would probably piss her off. He could have taken her home before coming, but he knew she wouldn't have been okay with that and that would have meant that Merle would have had to get the shit beat out of him for longer.

 _Fuck Merle_ , he thought,  _I should have done that option. His dumbass could have waited longer_.

"I'm gonna go find 'er, you…I don't give a fuck what you do, jackass," Daryl ground out before stalking off to find Beth. Now that his adrenaline was no longer pumping through his body, he could feel the numerous hits he had taken hurting. He shook his head, blinking his eyes to try and clear the pain and darkness that was making his brain feel fuzzy. Daryl focused his blue eyes on to the trail Beth had left behind. He noticed intentional slides in her heels and smiled. She remembered he was a hunter and had left clear tracks for him to follow. He heard movement ahead of him and started jogging towards it.

"Beth?" he called out. The movement stopped for a second before he heard it turn and start running towards him. A flash of blonde was all he saw before Beth jumped into his body, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck. He groaned slightly at her sudden weight on his and when she hit a bruise from the fight but inhaled her smell as his brain registered she was okay. She buried her face into his neck and inhaled deeply, her body shivering and shaking from the cold and her tears.

"Thank god you're okay," she kept mumbling into his skin. Relief filled Daryl as he wrapped his arms around her body and held her close to him, his hands fisting the leather of his vest on her back.

"I'm sorry, Beth. I'm so sorry for bringing you into this mess," he whispered repeatedly into her ear. Beth leaned back and suddenly pressed her lips to his. Daryl's mind went blank at the soft lips on his. The relief he felt coursing through his body now mixed with surprise and arousal. He kissed her back fiercely, putting all of the fear he had felt for her safety into the kiss. Beth moaned into his mouth and the sound of it snapped him out of the haze he was feeling. Daryl could feel her blood soaking his shirt and he quickly broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily. Beth's blue eyes were almost black when they opened and a blush danced across her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I…" she started before shaking her head. Daryl eased her down to her feet and tilted her head to look at the cuts. None of them were deep enough to need stitches but they were still bleeding slightly and would need cleaning. Who knows where or in who Martinez's knife had been. Guilt and rage coursed through Daryl again and he dropped his hands.

"Let's go," he told her brusquely as he turned and walked back to the truck. Beth stood there in shock from his sudden attitude change for a moment before following him. "Don't look, just get into the truck, alrigh'?" He told her as they approached the truck and area where the fight happened. Beth's eyes flitted to Daryl's before looking around for Merle. She froze when she saw the bodies lying on the ground. She had heard the gunshots, she had figured people had been shot but seeing their bodies was another thing. Her eyes landed on Merle and he shrugged.

"Us or them, Princess," he told her smoothly, as if this happened on a regular basis for him. Daryl grabbed Beth's arm and pushed her into the truck roughly. Beth spun around, anger at his treatment burning through her chest.

"What's your problem all of a sudden?" She screamed at Daryl whose eyes narrowed at her in a glare. "I made it and I'm fine! You don't get to treat me like crap just because you're…afraid!"

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" He yelled back at her, getting in her face. Beth could see it in his eyes though. The fear he had felt during the whole ordeal had been so blatantly obvious to her just by looking into his eyes, and in the kiss they had just shared.

"That's bullshit" she told him.

"Are you two ladies done? We need to get out of here," Merle exclaimed as he limped his way to the truck and climbed into the passenger seat. Beth held Daryl's glare until Merle tapped her on the shoulder and pulled on her arm slightly to have her scoot into the middle of the truck's bench seat. Daryl climbed in and started the truck, backing it out of the drive and leaving. Beth fidgeted slightly in the seat as questions burned through her mind.

"Is there any concern that the police will figure out who did it and come and get us?" Merle laughed.

"Nah, they don't care about those scum. Your real concern should be whether this Governor dude figures it out and comes after us, not the police." Beth's eyes widened and Daryl cursed.

"Fuck you, Merle! You just told me there wasn't a chance of that happenin'! Are you tryin to scare her now? In case you didn't notice, we just put her through something that is probably going to scar her for the rest of her damn life! We'll be lucky if she even wants to talk to us after tonight." Daryl yelled and Merle's smile dropped. Daryl's eyes widened as he realized what he just said. Beth looked at her finger nails.

"I'm not going to lie…that was terrifying," she admitted, "but I knew you guys would get us out of that situation. I trust you both." She sighed. "It doesn't feel right, though, leaving without calling the police and at least reporting the bodies, or something…" The two brothers stiffened and she shook her head, "but I won't call them if you don't want me to…"

"Preferably not," Merle answered. "It'll get taken care of, Princess. Don't you worry about that." Beth nodded and looked at Daryl.

"I need to wrap my head around what happened tonight…You both fight so flawlessly. How often does this happen to you?"

" _This?_  Never. We've never been jumped like that. We've been in fights at the bar thanks to jackass over there," Daryl answered, briefly shooting a glare at his brother. He pulled the truck into the parking lot of their apartment and the three of them climbed out. Merle went straight to his room once they got to their floor, but Daryl walked with Beth into her apartment.

"Let's get those cuts cleaned up," he muttered before disappearing into her bathroom and digging out her first aid kit. Beth sat on her couch while he gently cleaned the cuts and dried blood off of her neck. He stopped at the collar of her shirt and swallowed heavily. "Here, you uh…you can get the rest."

"It's just dried blood, Daryl. I'll wash it off in the shower." Daryl nodded as he carefully put bandaids and thin strips of gauze on the cuts that needed them. When he was done, he stood up and prepared to leave but Beth's sudden grip on his hand made him turn.

"Let me take a look at you," Beth pulled on his hand and made him sit on the coffee table in front of her. She eyed the black eye he had forming before moving on to clean the scrape he had at his temple from where the guy had slammed his head to the ground.

"I'm surprised you even want to be near me right now," he muttered darkly, his eyes looking anywhere but her. Beth's eyes widened and she tilted his head and forced him to meet her baby blues.

"Why wouldn't I want to be near you? You saved me."

" _I_  put you in that mess," he growled. Beth shook her head.

"I wanted to come and help you. I'm sorry I just got in the way. It's my fault you were jumped," she looked at the first aid kit in her lap and sighed. Daryl tipped a finger underneath her chin and made her look back up at him.

" _You_ caused a distraction that let Merle and I get an upper hand in the fight. How'd you learn to defend yourself like that anyways?"

"My daddy actually insisted after Jimmy and I broke up. So I asked our family friend, ya know the Sheriff I mentioned earlier, if he would give me some defense tips. He taught me what to do in case I was grabbed, put in a head lock, or had a gun or knife pointed at me. To be honest, I only really remember how to escape the head lock. If that guy hadn't put me in one, I would never have gotten loose unless one of you saved me." Daryl's eyes darkened at the mention of Jimmy but she shook her head and went back to cleaning his scrapes and cuts. Her eyes fell on a blood stain on his side and she panicked.

"Lift your shirt!" she ordered as she moved his arm to try and look at the wound. Daryl sputtered and held his shirt down as she tried to lift it.

"What are you doin, girl?"

"You're bleeding! Now let me see!"

"Hell no, it's just a scratch!"

"Right, and the Black Knight losing his arms only had a flesh wound!" Beth argued. Daryl quirked his head in confusion and Beth sighed.

"It's a scene from  _Monty Python and The Holy Grail_ , if you haven't seen it, I own it and we'll watch it so that will make sense to you. Now lift your damn shirt!" Daryl stilled Beth's hands and she met his eyes. They were filled with self-loathing and many other emotions she couldn't comprehend. Regret, anger, fear, and so many others flashed quickly through the dark blue orbs. "I won't hurt you, Daryl. I'd never do that."

"I know, but…"

"I'll never judge you, either," she told him calmly. He sighed and nodded, reluctantly lifting his shirt to his armpits but not removing it entirely. Beth kept her eyes on his until he was ready and then she moved her eyes down his torso. She blushed at the look of his pecks and abs, her mind briefly telling her to touch them, to run her hands over him. She shook the thought out of her head. Then her eyes took in the scars. They littered his stomach, chest, hips, and lower back. Daryl's head dropped and his grip on his shirt tightened until his knuckles were white. Beth forced her eyes to his side where a gash was bleeding.

"It looks like a graze, maybe from a bullet? It's large though…it may need stitches," she told him as she gingerly poked around the wound. "I've put stitches on animals many times…I could do it if you want since I figure going to the hospital is not an option." Beth looked cautiously at Daryl who still avoided her gaze, though his grip on his shirt had loosened. "Or Merle could do it."

"Hell no, I wouldn't trust him with a needle near my body even if we were the last two people on the planet. I trust you, Beth, go ahead." Beth nodded and gathered the supplies from inside her first aid kid. Daryl eyed the kit before finally meeting her eyes. "You get hurt a lot or something? That kit is pretty well stocked and most of the time, even well stocked ones don't have needles and thread in them."

"I'm not necessarily clumsy but I kept a well stocked kit with everything I would need to help someone at the farm. Injuries didn't happen often, but Shawn cut himself really good one day and we had to stitch him up so he didn't bleed out on the way to the hospital. After that, I just started keeping any medical supply I could think of in my kits. I have some pain relievers but I don't have anything other than ice to numb the area, let me get the aspirin real quick." Beth quickly went to her bathroom and came back with some aspirin and gave them to him with a glass of water.

"I'll be fine, go ahead and do it," he told her. She rolled up her right sleeve and instructed him to lay down on the coffee table and worked quickly to stitch the graze. He found his thoughts wondering to why she didn't roll up her left sleeve as well. He eyed her left arm and noticed for the millionth time all of the bracelets she wore on that wrist. He had thought about asking her many times why she wore them on only the one side but he had always figured that since she was right handed, she didn't want the bracelets to be in the way. It made sense to him but he thought quickly back to all of the times they had been alone and how she had never had that arm exposed. She always had some form of sleeve or bracelet, occasionally a watch or a cuff if she couldn't wear the bracelets, on at all times. He shook his head, deciding now wasn't the time to ask about it. "I'm gonna kill Merle for this, he grumbled." Beth finished the stitches and chuckled. "He was the one shooting everyone, it's his fault I needed these." He waited as Beth applied Neosporin to the area and gauze.

"All done," Beth said as she trailed her fingers softly over his skin around the gauze. Her fingers ran over one of his scars and he recoiled from her touch. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"No…it's...it's fine." Daryl lowered his shirt and looked at the floor between the two of them. "They're from my old man." He told her after a moment of silence. Beth's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. After he was silent for a while and she could tell he wasn't going to say anything more, Beth reached out and grabbed his hand. She was happy to see he didn't flinch from the contact.

"You're a strong and good man, Daryl Dixon. Scars don't define us. They are only proof of the fact that we  _survived_.  _You_  survived a traumatizing experience and you came out a better person." Beth's hand went to her left wrist where her long sleeve had stayed down and her bracelets sat above it. "I was foolish, naïve, depressed…whatever you wanna call it. About a month after mama died," Daryl noticed she didn't pause between saying 'mama' and 'died' for the first time since the cemetery about a month ago, it made him feel hopeful that maybe she was forgiving herself over her mother's death, "I was on my last thread. Daddy had been hitting the bottle pretty hard and had almost caused a wreck from his drinking. I only had our neighbors, Otis and Patricia, helping me on the farm at that time. Shawn and Maggie weren't calling as much…I wasn't going to school or seeing my friends. I just felt so lost.

"One night, daddy just up and left…He wasn't at the bar or at any of our friends' homes…I went home not knowing where else to look or what to do. Sheriff Grimes and Officer Walsh were out helping look for him while I sat at home. I just sat there at the kitchen table for hours. All of the grief and guilt hit me and it doubled because I realized I couldn't even care for my own father…So…I just decided to end it. I thought that the family would be better off without me." Beth swallowed heavily as she took off her bracelets and rolled up her long sleeve. Daryl's eyes fell on the long scar going up her wrist. Beth took a deep breath and quickly rolled her sleeve back down. Daryl's hand stopped her and he smoothed his thumb over the scar as he moved his eyes up to hers but she refused to meet them.

"Sheriff Grimes found daddy and brought him home. They found me almost dead on the kitchen floor, just like I had found mama. 'Cept she was already gone and they could save me. That was the last night daddy drank and the first night since the funeral my whole family was together again. I'd had to go into surgery so that they could stitch up the vein and my wrist. I had needed a blood transfusion. When it was all done, Maggie was furious, called me a coward and told me mama would've been ashamed of me through her tears. Daddy and Shawn just sat there in shock. I felt so awful afterwards but that was when my family realized how much daddy had been drinkin and how much I had been shouldering. I guess good came out of it, but my family…they haven't really looked at me the same since…

"Occasionally they get these dark looks in their eyes, as if they're worried I'm gonna try again…." Beth sighed, her eyes finally meeting Daryl's again. "I know, that was a heavy story. I'm sorry, I didn't even think about whether you would want to hear it…" Daryl was silent for a moment before looking back at the scar.

"I'm glad they saved you, that they found you when they did," he told her. His voice was quiet and even in the stillness of her apartment, Beth was barely able to hear him. "If they hadn't, you wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have my best friend." Beth's heart squeezed slightly and her eyes watered. Daryl leaned towards her slightly, his eyes jumping from her eyes to her lips.

All Daryl could think about what the trust and honesty the blonde in front of him had placed in him with that story. How she had forgiven him for getting her into the mess earlier. How soft her lips felt against his. Daryl felt a flutter in his stomach and chest at the memory of it. The feeling left him feeling thoroughly confused and part of him wanted to flee back to his apartment and forget any of it had ever happened. But another part, a larger part of him, wanted to stay. It wanted to find out  _why_  she had kissed him. It wanted to kiss her again. The urge grew and before he knew it, he was leaning towards the petite blonde and pulling her towards him by her wrist.

"Why did you kiss me earlier?" he asked softly as her breath brushed over his face as he pulled her closer. He could hear and feel her breath hitch, her eyes searching his.

"I dunno…heat of the moment?" her answer came out as a question. Daryl's eyes searched hers and he found that wasn't the complete truth in her eyes.

"Try again," he told her and she swallowed, her tongue wetting her bottom lip before she bit the soft tissue.

"I was relieved that you were okay." Again, he could see something else in her eyes that made him think there was still more to it.

"And again."

"I…I wanted to. I've wanted to for a while now," she admitted softly.

"Why?" he asked, slightly caught off guard by her answer.

"Because you make me happy. And I think you're attractive. And I like you. I  _really_  like you, Daryl Dixon." Daryl's heart skipped a beat and he felt the confusing feelings increase. The urge to run grew exponentially but Daryl found he couldn't. Their faces were only apart by a short distance now and their eyes had only broken contact to flit to the other's lips before bouncing back.

"Can I kiss you now, Beth Greene?"

"God, please do," she responded before he crashed his lips to hers.


	8. Chapter 8

Daryl felt a sigh rush out of his nose at the feeling of Beth's soft lips against his. His kisses quickly became hungrier as his body craved more of the petite blonde and he felt himself moving and pushing her down on to the couch, his body covering hers. Her left leg wrapped around him, her right leg wrapped around the back of his legs to keep from hurting his stitches. Daryl's brain had gone completely blank of everything except the feel, smell, and sounds of Beth Greene. He ground his hips into hers and she let out a gasp, her hands moving from his hair to the hem of his shirt and lifting it to touch his stomach. Her fingers were cool against his stomach and his muscles jumped at the soft brushes they placed on his warm skin. His hands skimmed down her chest, her body arching into his as she moaned at the feeling of his calloused fingers on her stomach and breast.

 _"I've been thinking it's time we moved on"_  Merle's voice suddenly rang through Daryl's mind. Daryl's eyes snapped open and he flung himself off the couch, his breathing heavy.  _"You can go back to living in your little_ _ **fairy tale world**_ _where Ms. Blonde thing is yours forever and you can live happily ever after!"_

"Daryl?" Beth's voice was distant and Daryl ran his hands through his hair, yanking on it slightly to rein his focus back on her. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"We can't do this, Beth," he tells her and instantly he regrets it as pain flashes on her face. "We're gonna be leaving soon. Merle and I."

"I thought you were tired of drifting?" she asked softly, her voice heavy as she struggled to keep her tears in. Daryl could feel anger at himself growing in his stomach and roaring its way into his chest.

"It's not happening, Beth. I ain't any good for ya. Today's events prove it to ya."

"Today's events prove to me  _Merle_  isn't any good for me, which is good cuz I'm not interested in that Dixon brother," she retorted. "And we already discussed this. You're a  _good_  man. I'll tell you every day until you know that yourself and recite it in your sleep if I need to." Daryl shook his head and Beth sighed before nodding and standing. She placed her hand gently on his cheek and Daryl could feel himself relax, his breath evening and his eyes closing, into her touch. "Think on it, on us, okay? I'll always be your friend, Daryl." Daryl sighed and nodded, his thoughts and emotions flying through his mind at a million miles an hour. Beth smiled as he reopened his eyes but he could see pain and rejection in her blue eyes.

"'M sorry, Beth."

"Don't be." Beth told him before dropping her gaze and shrugging his vest off and handing it back to him. Daryl struggled to breathe as he took the vest from her like a punch in the gut. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded and reluctantly pulled himself away from her and walking out of her apartment.

 _What the fuck did I just do? What just happened?_  He thought heavily, as a weight settled on his chest and stomach. A lump formed in his throat and he looked at the closed door behind him.

 _I just fucked up…_ anger coursed through him and he growled, his fist clenching his leather vest tightly.

"I thought for sure that you and blondie were gonna be fuckin' around tonight. Make up sex or you-almost-died sex; some sorta romantic, girly shit like that. Ya already done?" Merle's voice sounded amused behind him.

"Shut up, Merle."

"Prolly for the best little brother. Better to not start somethin' with 'er, ain't no Dixon gonna be good 'nuff for the likes of 'er. You're just a joke to 'er, a charity case, redneck trash. She'd kick ya ta the curb sooner anyway. 'Sides, we need to be leaving soon. That mess earlier is a good sign it's time ta do it. Best pack up and move on."

 _Beth's not like that_ , an inner voice told Daryl. He shook his head and shoved passed Merle to go to sleep.

* * *

Beth lay across her couch, tears falling from her eyes and running into her hair. Three days. It had been three days since Daryl walked out of her apartment and she hadn't seen or heard anything from either Dixon brother. Her phone sat ignored on her coffee table as it rang and rang for the third day in a row. It wasn't Daryl calling or texting; she had checked every message and caller for the past two days, why would today be any different? Her blue eyes drifted sadly to her phone as it started ringing again from its place on top of the two rejection letters she had gotten in the mail that day.

Her newest song had been rejected by every label company she had sent it to and she had probably lost her best friend after throwing herself at him. Beth had begged the diner to give her the past two days off and they had given her three in a row so Beth had pathetically lain around her apartment eating ice cream since Daryl had walked out.

She felt ridiculous. Daryl had looked so pained and confused by what was happening that she had thought giving him time to think about it and sort through his confusion would help. Then she had overheard Merle talking to him in the hallway. She knew they hadn't left yet because their balcony door would occasionally open and she would see them step out and smoke. Beth huffed and forced herself to sit up.

 _I'm being stupid,_  she thought.  _Enough lying around like a heart broken girl. That's not going to pay the bills or keep a friendship with the Dixon brothers or help me through Christmas on Friday._  Beth pushed herself off her couch and grabbed the two small present s that were wrapped and sitting by her door. She taped a note to the top of Daryl's and snuck in to the hallway with them. She set them in front of their door and knocked before returning to her own apartment and closing the door.

* * *

The two brothers looked up from their plates of deer meat and looked at the door.

"Well go ahead, Darylina. It's probably your gal wantin to see if you'd spend time with her," Merle chuckled and Daryl glared at him before going to the door and opening it. There wasn't anybody at the door but two wrapped presents sat at his feet. He picked them up and showed them to Merle, his eyebrow quirked in confusion.

"Great, she celebrates Christmas," Merle muttered before setting his plate down as Daryl approached, handing him the smaller of the two presents. "To Merle from Santa Claus? There's gotta be somethin' wrong with your gal, Darylina." Merle grumbled but opened the wrapping and box, grumbling incoherently as he did so. His grumbling stopped as he eyed whatever was in his box. Daryl watched curiously as Merle continued to stare at his gift. Merle finally reached into the box and pulled out a new hunting knife in a leather holster. The knife was slightly larger than the one Merle owned and the grip was smooth in his hand. There was no denying it was an excellent blade.

"Well, I'll be damned," Merle whispered and Daryl couldn't stop the smirk forming on his face, "I've been wanting one of these, was tempted to just steal one next time we went to that huntin' store." Daryl narrowed his eyes but knew what that Merle had done far worse things than stealing before. He looked at the wrapped box in his hands and read the note taped to it.

_Santa brought these to me knowing that I needed to apologize to you for being so forward with my feelings and disregarding how they may affect you. I'm sorry for the other day and for avoiding you since then. I would love it if you both would join my family and I for dinner Friday night._

_Love, Beth_

_P.s. I have something for you but didn't have time to wrap it._

Daryl set the note aside and read the tag on his present.  _To Daryl, From Santa Claus_.

 _I've never gotten anything from Santa before_ , he realized and it created a weird warmth in his chest. He carefully opened the wrapping and the box and stared at the gifts inside. In his box was a hunting knife, a different one from Merle's so they wouldn't get them confused, and various other goodies like cookies and sweets that Daryl enjoyed ordering with their dinners when they ate out. There was also some cash with a sticky note  _I didn't really know what to get you, so here's a little extra to buy what you want_.

* * *

Beth sat down on her couch and finally picked up her phone as it rang.

"Thank god, Beth! I've been trying to reach you for three days now!" Maggie yelled and Beth sighed.

"Sorry, I've just been…really tired…I guess."

"You sound upset. What happened?"

"Nothin' happened, Maggie. I'm fine."

"I'm almost there, you better be ready to go. You're gonna explain what happened," Maggie insisted. Beth stood up and went to her room to freshen up and change into a turtle neck. It was the only top she owned that would cover the cuts on her neck and collarbone. Beth frantically thought of what she could tell her sister to help her calm down. She sighed and admitted one of the things bothering her.

"Jimmy came by, that's all, Maggie." Her words were met with silence but Beth knew the words pissed her sister off.

"What did he want?" Maggie growled.

"I don't know, I made him leave as soon as I saw him."

"Alright…well let's go out for dinner. I'm pulling up now." Beth hung up and grabbed her keys and locked up her apartment. A smile lifted her lips when she noticed the presents were missing from the door in front of her before going down the stairs and climbing in her sister's car.

* * *

Daryl set his box aside and opened his apartment door and knocked on Beth's door. When she didn't answer, he went back into his apartment and pulled the cash out of the box.

 _What can I get Beth to show her my appreciation? How can I ask for her forgiveness for fucking up so badly the other day?_  The second question had been on his mind for the past three days and he still had no clue on the answer to it. Merle asked him something but he ignored it as he shrugged on his coat and vest and left, thinking hard on what kind of gift to get Beth.

* * *

Beth sighed as she walked to the bar to order another drink. Maggie and Glenn were all over each other in their booth and it was sitting with Beth horribly. Her mind kept flashing back to the other night, Daryl's weight on hers comfortably and his rough hands on her stomach. His lips on hers. Beth collapsed into a stool at the bar and growled, shaking her head to try and rid the images and feelings of that night.

"You look like you need a pick me up. My name's Phillip, Phillip Blake. Let me buy you a drink."


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl sighed and ran his hand through his hair for the fifteenth time in the past twenty minutes. It was just after midnight and Beth was still not home. She also wasn't answering her phone when he called or texted. Concern had been eating away at Daryl's stomach for a couple hours now and he was near the point of calling the hospital to see if she was there. He perked up as he heard the door to the building open and feet running up the stairs. Daryl looked over the railing and could see a blonde head running/stumbling up the lower flights. A breath of relief escaped Daryl at the sight of Beth coming up the stairs. His relief was quickly covered with anger when he recognized the stumbling state she was in. Beth tripped as she came up the stairs to the landing below him and she collapsed into the wall, her back facing him.

"I've been trying to call you for the past two hours! I've been sitting here thinking that maybe I should call the hospital to see if you were there. Glad I didn't waste their time on top of my own since you've been out having a party and getting drunk like some dumb college bitch!" Daryl yelled as he stomped down the stairs to help Beth stand. She pushed herself to her feet and swayed, almost falling backwards down the stairs behind her. Thankfully, Daryl got to her in time and grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Daryl…my drink didn't taste right," she muttered, making Daryl's eyes widen as he took in Beth's appearance. She was pale and sweaty despite the cold December air. Her coat was hanging off one shoulder from her run and she also looked like she was about to pass out. "This guy…he bought me a drink, it was the only one I had, I swear. It wasn't even alcoholic! I told him I had a boyfriend, you. I didn't know what else to say." Beth's eyes closed and she fell heavily against Daryl's chest.

"Beth! Beth, wake up, honey," he tapped her cheeks and her eyes opened slightly.

"I'm so tired…"

"What drink did you have?" he asked as he picked her limp body up and took her into his apartment. Merle looked up from the TV, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Beth barely conscious in Daryl's arms.

"The fuck?" Merle asked as he stood up from the couch, leading the way to Daryl's room to open his closed door.

"I was the DD for Maggie and Glenn, so I ordered a coke," Beth whispered and Daryl shook her in his arms to wake her back up. "It didn't taste right. Didn' look righ' either when I looked."

"Beth, who bought you the drink?"

"Some guy…named Phillip. I'm gonna be sick," Beth muttered and Daryl quickly took her to the bathroom and set her down in front of the toilet before holding her loose hair back as she threw up. "You're always takin' good care o' me when I'm sick," Beth's voice started to slur and her eyes drooped.

"You ain't sick, Sugartits," Merle told her from the bathroom door. Beth's cheeks reddened and she struggled to push herself into an upright position.

"Don' call me that, Merle!"

"Whachu gonna do about it, Baby Cakes?" Merle taunted. Daryl opened his mouth to tell him to get the fuck out when he noticed Beth's eyes sparking. Merle pissing her off was helping her fight through the drugged haze she was in.

"Kick yer ass, Dixon," she mouthed and Merle laughed.

"Beth, how long ago did you have the drink?" Daryl interrupted now that her eyes looked more focused. She looked thoughtfully at Daryl as her body slumped heavily into the bathtub beside the toilet, making both Dixon brothers flinch at the sound of it. She'd be feeling that later, they were sure of that much.

"I dunno," she answered.

"How much did you drink? What bar were you at?"

"Only a little bit. When it tasted funny, I told him I needed to pee and asked if he'd watch my drink for me. Then I ran. My legs feel like jell-o. It made running really difficult. Do you think I'm outta shape?" she giggled and Daryl huffed in annoyance.

"She can't help it," Merle reminded him and Daryl nodded, returning his attention to Beth.

"Beth, what bar?"

"Pete's." Daryl frowned. He didn't know of a bar called Pete's.

"Hey, Sugartits, you talking bout Pete the bartender? Down at that hipster bar?"

"Yea! That place, Maggie loves it there."

"What do we do?" Daryl asked as Beth leaned her head back against the tub and her eyes slipped closed. He felt extremely unprepared for this situation.

"Since she didn't drink much of the drugged Coke, I'd say it's prolly safe that she go to sleep to sleep the shit off." Merle stepped out of the doorway to allow Daryl the space to pick the blonde up and maneuver her back to his room and onto his bed.

"She'll be alright alone, won't she?" Daryl asked as he moved a trashcan next to the bed. Fire boiled in Daryl's blood as he stared at the unconscious woman in his bed.

"You thinkin of tryin' to find this Phillip and teach him a lesson?" Merle asked, cracking his knuckles. Daryl nodded as he leaned over Beth to remove her coat and tuck her in under his sheets. Her coat felt heavy and Daryl dug in its pockets removing her phone, keys, wallet, and a napkin. His curiosity got the better of him and he unfolded the napkin.

_This is your first punishment for helping kill my men, Beth Greene.._

_The Governor_

Daryl froze and showed the napkin to Merle.

"How'd he figure out it she was even there? There were no survivors left," Merle muttered.

" _First_  punishment, Merle!  _First_! This fucker is gonna try to do more to her. Let's go. With any luck, the bastard is still there!" The two brothers left their apartment in Daryl's truck, driving the couple of blocks to the bar. Daryl's eyes looked around at the bar and spotted an abandoned glass sitting on the bar with a napkin underneath it. He pushed his way through a group of people who were blocking the bar from the door and picked up the beverage to read the note.

_You're lucky I let her go that easily, Dixons. This is just one step in my path towards revenge._

_Governor_

"He knows we did it," Daryl muttered. Pete, the bartender, walked up to the brothers and asked what they wanted to drink.

"Pete, where's the guy who was here? With the blonde?" Merle asked and Pete shrugged.

"Sorry, Merle, we're busy. He was here a few minutes ago, but he musta left."

"He slipped my…friend a fuckin' drug in her drink! You allow that sorta shit in here,  _Pete_?" Daryl yelled, leaning threateningly over the bar, making Pete pale.

"Hell no, man! Look, I opened the can of coke, poured it into her glass, and set it on the bar. I had another customer yelling for me so I left to do my job."

Daryl growled before looking around the bar. No one was standing out to him. Hell, no one even looked at him and Merle.

"Glenn, we need to find Beth. We're too drunk to drive," Daryl heard a woman say through her giggling and he quickly approached the couple.

"Are you Maggie, Beth's sister?" Maggie's smile dropped and she eyed him nervously.

"How do you know my sister?"

"I'm her neighbor. She wasn't feeling well and went home. I came to see if you needed a ride or if you needed me to call you a cab?" Maggie's eyes narrowed and she whipped her phone out.

"I'll call a cab. Thank you…?"

"Daryl," he filled in and Maggie nodded.

"Thanks, Daryl. I'll stop by tomorrow to check on her." Maggie and the Asian guy next to her left the bar and Daryl sighed.

"This would be so much simpler if I fuckin knew what he looked like!" Daryl snarled. Merle stood by quietly and Daryl eyed him. "You're not usually this quiet. Does it not bother you what this ass did to Beth? It's your fuckin fault this happened!"

"Mine? I'm not the dumbass who took her to a drop gone wrong, baby brother," Merle snapped.

"I wouldn'ta had to if you could clean your shit up! You fuckin work for this bastard, don't you know what he looks like?"

"Hell no, only Martinez and a hand full of others knew him. I was hoping to join the higher ranks of his group but then all this shit went down."

"Let's go," Daryl caved.

"You realize that we can't leave now unless we take Blondie with us, right?" Merle asked as the two brothers entered their apartment. Daryl stopped walking to his room and turned to face Merle, regret and guilt showing on his face.

"I wasn't gonna go with you this time, Merle. I've got a job…and Beth, if she'll have me after all this fucked up shit. I'm done driftin' and followin' you, doin' your dirty work. Bustin' you outta jail or outta tight spots. I'm done with it all. That ain't livin'." A tense silence filled the room before Merle laughed bitterly.

"That's rich, Darylina. You really think she's gonna stick around with you? Even before all this shit went down, she wasn't gonna stick around with you. You're redneck trash to her, man! I'm your blood! After everything we've been through and I've done for you, you're just gonna leave me for a piece a tail? That's bullshit!"

"You shut up about her, Merle," Daryl warned. "And you ain't done shit for me. Who left first, huh? Who left me with our abusive old man?  _You_  did, Merle. I _belong_  here with  _her_." Merle's eyes widened as Daryl lifted his shirt to show some of the scars around the gauze on his hip.

"I…I didn't know, man. I had ta go, I woulda killed 'im." Daryl lowered his shirt, shook his head, and stormed into his bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. His blue eyes traveled to Beth, who had snuggled deeper into his blankets but remained fast asleep in his bed. Turning the lights off, Daryl made his way carefully to the other side of his bed and climbed into the sheets. He originally thought about staying on the edge of his side and giving Beth as much space as she wanted but the concern he had been bottling since before she came home filled him and he rolled himself to lay against her back, his arm wrapping tightly around her and tucking his head into the crevice between her neck and shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Beth. I can't seem to do anything right for you," he murmured against her shoulder before placing a light kiss to her skin and falling asleep.

* * *

Beth came to and instantly felt awful. Her head pounded and her body felt heavy. A weight lay across her stomach and Beth registered a body firmly pressed against hers. She reluctantly opened her eyes and glanced around the room, not recognizing anything in her surroundings.

 _Oh god,_  she thought,  _did I get drunk and lose my virginity to some stranger?_  That thought quickly vanished as she realized she was still dressed.  _Okay, good. That didn't happen…So what_ _ **did**_ _happen?_  Beth inhaled heavily through her nose and recognized the scent around her. She could feel warm breath blowing across her neck and tensed slightly before reminding herself of the owner of the scent.

 _This must be Daryl's room. I'm in Daryl's bed. With Daryl. What happened last night?!_  Panic began rising in Beth and she felt her breathing and heart pick up. The arm around her stomach tightened for a moment before relaxing and shifting slightly to hold her hand.

"Calm down, Beth, you're safe," Daryl's voice was low and gravelly with sleep in her ear and Beth fought against a shudder at the sound of it. She rolled over to face him and took in the exhausted look in his eyes. His eyes brightened slightly as he took her in and he gave her a small smile. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"What…what happened last night? The last thing I remember was going to the bar with Maggie and wanting a coke…then some guy…" her eyes widened with fear and she trembled. "Did he…drug me? Do you know if he…?" Daryl shook his head and Beth covered her face with her hands, a sob of relief and fear escaping her.

"I'm sorry, Beth…but he…he did drug you," Daryl told her before he relayed to her everything she had told him in her drugged state the night before. "There's more, though Beth…" She wiped her face with her sleeve and nodded for him to continue. "The guy…was apparently The Governor Martinez talked about. He knows what happened…this was a warning, I guess." Beth's eyes widened and she tucked her face into his chest, wrapping her arms under and around him and holding him tightly. Daryl expected to feel and hear her cry but she didn't. She held him tightly before looking back into his eyes.

"So what do we do?"

"I-I don't really know, Beth. Merle talked about taking you with us when we left but I wasn't planning on leaving with him and I told him that. He knows who we are and what happened at the fight. The best I can think of is that you go home to your father's. Merle and I will track him down."

"No, I won't leave you," she interrupted and Daryl sighed.

"It's the best idea I've got right now, Beth. Your safety is most important to me now. I care about you too much to lose you." Beth's cheeks reddened with a blush and she smiled softly at his admission. "I fucked up, Beth. A lot. I've put your life in danger and I've lied to you. Last night happened because of me and Merle. You should honestly leave me and never look back."

"What did you lie about?"

"I told you we couldn't work out but the truth is, as soon as I left your apartment that night…I knew. I knew I had fucked up the best thing to ever happen to me…I…I don't know how I feel about you, Beth. I've never felt this way for anyone before. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for lying to you, for pushing you away, for getting you into this mess…I'm sorry," Daryl buried his face in Beth's hair and she felt his body jerk with a heavy sob. "I almost got you killed and last night, you could've been…or if the drug had been put in alcohol it could have…and it would have been all my fault." Beth smoothed her hands in circled on Daryl's back, placing soft kisses on his clothed chest between her soothing words.

"It's okay, Daryl. I'm okay. I'm safe. We're okay."

"I don't deserve you, Greene, but if you'll forgive me…if you'll have me, I'll work hard to finally do right by you. I'll protect you, I swear it. I'll never let anything happen to you again." Daryl clutched her to him tighter with his words, his sobs slowing as his brain registered her heartbeat, her warmth. Her soft hands and lips brushing over his back and chest. He felt guilty, knowing he should be comforting her and not the other way around. She had been the one who was drugged, who woke up with no memory of what had happened the night before in a strange room as he had insisted they always hang out in  _her_  apartment to avoid Merle.

"Of course I forgive you," he voice was soft, "there's nothing to forgive." Beth pulled back from him and tilted her face towards his. She paused before her lips touched his and leaned back. "I've got a terrible feeling in my mouth like something died in there. I wanna kiss you but I wanna brush my teeth first. Do you have a spare tooth brush?" Daryl chuckled and nodded, pointing to the open bathroom door. Beth disentangled herself from his body and the two of them went into the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Beth eyed Daryl in the mirror while they brushed their teeth and he quickly spat the minty foam out and rinsed.

"You're a strong woman, Beth. A fighter. You've been through so much and you keep on pushing through. You keep trusting me despite everything...I dunno how or why...But I'm grateful for it..." Beth paused in her brushing, her cheeks turning pink, her eyes never leaving his.

The moment they were both done, Daryl picked Beth up and carried her back to his bed. He dropped her back onto the mattress and quickly lay down beside her, pulling the blankets up around them as he did so. He pulled her against his body and claimed her lips with his.


	10. Chapter 10

"Remind me again how you managed to drag me into this?" Daryl asked as he loaded his duffle bag of clothes and necessities into the backseat of his truck. Beth laughed as she did the same.

"I only asked if you wanted to join me out to daddy's for Christmas dinner and staying in the guesthouse for a little while," she replied innocently, making Daryl scoff.

"No, I'm pretty sure you somehow pulled off an amazing amount of deception and did something to trick me." Beth sighed as she settled into the passenger seat and took her coat off. She met his eyes as he stood outside the truck, pulling his sunglasses on his face to fight off the early morning sunshine.

"I may have told you about some amazing hunting you could do while we're there," she shrugged as her eyes glanced back to his crossbow then back to his dark blue eyes. Her body displayed innocence but her eyes were gleaming mischievously. She batted her blue eyes at him, "enough stalling, let's go. Daddy's waiting."

"That," Daryl said as he climbed into the truck, "that right there must be how you did it. You bat those baby blues at me and I can't seem to say no to you."

"Oh, really?" Beth's lips quirked and she batted her eyes again. "Kiss me, Dixon." Daryl chuckled before leaning and catching her lips in a soft kiss.

"Be careful with that girl. With great power, comes great responsibility, or some shit like that" Daryl growled against her lips and Beth smiled. Daryl leaned back into his seat and started the truck.

"You're sure your old man is okay with this, me staying in the guest house for the next week?"

"Of course. Glenn's staying too, which is probably part of the reason he agreed. I also told him that there had been a plumbing issue that flooded your apartment and that you were wanting to meet the family and you needed a place to stay," Beth rambled and Daryl smirked.

"I'm startin' to think I ain't the only one who can't say no to those baby blues," he muttered, making Beth grin. "How long of a drive is it to your pa's?"

"A little over an hour," Beth answered as she pulled on her sunglasses and thumbed through his CDs. "Think you can handle being in a confined space with me for that long?"

"Over an hour with Beth Greene in my truck? I better jump ship now," he teased. Beth stuck her tongue out at him and put a CD into his stereo, keeping the volume down so that they could still converse if they wanted to. After she directed him to the highway that would take them to her small hometown, the couple fell into a comfortable silence.

"Why didn't Merle wanna come?" Beth asked and Daryl tensed.

"He…he left, Beth." Beth's eyes widened.

"What? When? Why didn't you tell me?"

"He left this morning, I guess. We haven't talked since our argument the other day. All I know is he was in the living room last night and gone today. All his clothes and shit was missing, so that's my guess." Daryl sighed and Beth could see a lost look in his eyes. There was also anger there too. Merle had left town, left them to deal with the mess with The Governor alone.

"I-I'm sorry, Daryl," she reached out and grabbed his free hand, squeezing it lightly. He squeezed back and glanced at her before looking back at the road.

"'S alrigh', ain't the first time he's left." Beth sighed, her mind whirling to change the subject, her hand keeping a hold of Daryl's, her thumb absently rubbing his.

"The whole family is gonna be there this weekend," she started and Daryl 'hmm'd' in response. "Shawn apparently had a girlfriend for the past year or so and he proposed last week, so she'll be there. Maggie and Glenn will be there. Sheriff Grimes and his wife and kids will be there for dinner tonight. They frequent the farm, so we'll be seeing them a lot over the next week. Deputy Walsh  _may_  be there too, but I'm not sure.

"I was kinda thinking, and I want you to hear me out on this, okay?" She waited for Daryl to show he was listening and when he nodded she continued, "I was thinkin' we tell Sheriff Grimes about The Governor bein' after us. We don' tell him anything outside of that. We just see what he can suggest or if he could help us somehow."

"Tellin' him involves him, puts his life at risk. You really wanna do that to his family?" Beth bit her lip at his words and looked out the window.

"Runnin' to my daddy's puts him at risk too, Daryl. Rick, Sheriff Grimes, is a cop. A  _good_  cop. He's used to dangerous situations. We tell him we're in trouble and he won't ask  _too_  many questions. It's our best bet, Daryl." Daryl looked at Beth out of the corner of his eyes and watched as she stared out the window at the scenery whirling passed them.

"I dunno, Beth. He's gonna ask why he's after us and I dunno bout you but tellin' Grimes we got in a fight and killed some of The Governor's men ain't gonna work. He'll have no choice but to arrest us."

"Technically,  _we_ didn't kill his men. Besides, when he asks that we'll just say there was a disagreement and leave it at that." Beth could see the uncertainty on Daryl's face. "Once you meet him tonight, you'll agree with the idea."

The couple spent the rest of the drive in relative silence, breaking it occasionally to talk about random things or to give directions. As the truck finally pulled into the long driveway leading up to the large farmhouse, Daryl let out a low whistle.

"It's larger than you described," he told her as he put the truck in park and turned it off.

"Are you nervous?" She asked, giving his hand another squeeze. He was silent, his left hand picking at a string on the hem of his button up. It was the nicest of his shirts.

"I think yer old man's gonna shoot me the minute he sees me," he told her honestly. "Gonna say I'm too old, no good, and trashy for his daughter."

"Daddy wouldn't do any of those things. He sees the good in people just like I do," she comforted and Daryl sighed. He pulled his hand from hers and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small rectangular box.

"Before I lose my nerve again," he told her as he handed the box to her. "Your Christmas gift." Beth accepted the box and opened it, her eyes going wide at the silver necklace inside. There were two hearts entwined in each other attached to the chain and she gasped.

"It's beautiful, Daryl," she whispered, gently taking the necklace from the box and holding it out to him. She quickly leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, "will you help me put it on?" she asked against, her lips brushing his with her words. Daryl nodded silently and she turned, making sure the necklace was facing the correct way before holding the ends out behind her head for him to take.

"I've never celebrated Christmas before," he told her as he shakily attempted to connect the chain, failing a couple of times before finally clasping it. "Never did big family dinners or gifts…"

"So my…I mean, Santa's gift was your first Christmas gift?" Beth asked and Daryl smiled.

"Yea, first gift and first from "Santa."" Beth grabbed her duffle bag from the backseat and opened it, pulling out a bundle of bolts and a detachable quiver from inside her bag.

"Then, these are your second gift," she handed the bundle to him and he took it shyly. His eyes took in the quiver and he excitedly pulled his crossbow to his lap and attached it carefully to the bottom of the weapon.

"How'd you know what kind ta get to fit my crossbow?" he asked softly and Beth smiled.

"That's a secret. Now come on, I'm sure they're wondering why we're just sitting in here. Let's go in and meet everyone and then I'll show you around." Beth turned to get out of the truck but was stopped by Daryl's hand as it gently pulled her back to him and kissed her deeply. Daryl's heart felt so light he thought it would lift his body off the ground and he smiled against her lips. "Never had a girlfriend neither. 'Till now," he admitted as he leaned away from Beth. Beth's eyes opened and she smiled.

"I'll do my best to be everything you need," she told him. Daryl saw movement outside her window and leaned away from her. "What's…" Beth started but was interrupted by a giggling voice outside the truck.

"Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Maggie giggled and teased through the window. "Come on, love birds! Daddy's gonna kill ya for smoochin out here!" Beth sighed and shook her head, a smile and blush gracing her face.

"He won't kill ya," she told the hunter as she climbed out of the truck and into Maggie's arms. Daryl sighed and climbed out after her, grabbing both of their bags and slinging them over one shoulder and his crossbow over the other. Maggie came around the truck, pulling Beth along behind her.

"So, neighbor, huh?" she asked, her eyes glinting as she took in Daryl. He shifted nervously and nodded.

"Well, he started out just my neighbor. Then he became my best friend and now he's my boyfriend." Beth explained as she pulled herself free from Maggie's grip and wrapped an arm around Daryl's waist, her blue eyes shining into his. Daryl instantly felt his nerves calm and he leaned into her body slightly. Maggie took in how his body melted into Beth's and smiled.

"I approve," she stated simply before leading the way up to the farmhouse where Daryl could see an older man waiting beside two younger men, one with dark hair and one with light brown hair, and a long, brown haired female. Beth approached the patio and the light-brown haired man jumped off and picked Beth up in a hug as she let out a laugh.

"Bethy! It's been so long! Merry Christmas!" the young man said as he squeezed Beth to him tighter before putting her back on her feet and facing Daryl, who stood by watching awkwardly. "So this is the boyfriend, huh? 'm Shawn, Beth's brother. Well, half-brother if ya wanna be technical but who cares about that? And that beautiful lady up there is my fiancé, Haley." Shawn held his hand out to Daryl and the hunter readjusted his load to shake it.

"Daryl Dixon," he greeted. Beth pulled him away from Shawn and up to the porch where her father stood patiently waiting and watching. The older man's gaze unnerved Daryl and he could feel his nerves returning.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy," Beth greeted as she let go of Daryl's hand and hugged her father tightly. The older man held her just as tightly before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Beth stepped back to Daryl's side and smiled at him. "Daddy, this is my boyfriend Daryl Dixon. Daryl, this is my father, Hershel." Daryl wiped his hand nervously on his jeans before holding it out and shaking Hershel's hand.

"Pleasure, Mr. Greene."

"Hershel is fine, Daryl." Daryl nodded as his discomfort rose slightly. Beth smiled brightly at him and he attempted a grin back but he could tell it came out as more of a grimace. Hershel laughed, "I ain't gonna shoot ya, Daryl. Unless you deserve it?"

"Hershel, I honestly think any boyfriend of your daughter's prolly deserves it. Ain't no one gonna be good 'nough for her," Daryl admitted and Hershel smiled.

"Let's get in, you two must be starving after that drive," Hershel gestured to the house and Daryl nodded before glancing at the dark haired man he know recognized as Glenn.

"We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Glenn Rhee." Daryl shook his hand before gesturing for Glenn and Maggie go inside first. Beth leaned into his side, her hand reaching around and grabbing her bag from him.

"That went really well," she told him before rising and kissing his cheek. "Now you just need to meet the Grimes family and you'll know everyone in the Greene family." Beth shrugged her bag over one shoulder and stood in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Not particularly," he grumbled. "Confused, nervous…I dunno." Beth smiled and placed her chin on his chest, batting her blue eyes at him from behind her sunglasses, which made him smirk.

"You're doing fine. Daddy likes ya. Everyone does actually," her hands grabbed his leather vest and she used it to pull him closer to her as she raised herself enough to meet his lips. "But especially me," she muttered against his lips. Daryl smirked into the kiss.

"I hope you do," he told her as he kissed her again before stepping back and holding the door open for her. Beth led the way through the large farmhouse, her hand holding his as she showed him around the living room, dining room, kitchen (where she made them both sandwiches and glasses of sweet tea), and the upstairs (where she dropped off her bag in her room). She then showed him around the outside, taking him to the guesthouse where he could drop off his stuff in his room for the week.

"We've got…uh…I honestly don't know how many acres…but the forest you see back there is ours too. Daddy used to go hunting with Otis over the years but he doesn't like to now. Says he's too old to go. He's okay with you hunting out there, if you want. Daddy told me that this farm has been in the Greene family for over a hundred and sixty years. I'm hoping to keep it that way for as long as I'm alive too. I love it here," Beth took a deep breath and smiled. "We have a lot of livestock out here, horses and cattle, chickens, ponds for fishing, you name it. I've always joked with Maggie that this would be the perfect place to stay if there was ever a zombie apocalypse. If you want, we can go out for a horseback ride sometime while we're here?"

"I don't have much experience with horses," he admitted. He glanced around the large farm and smiled. Beth was right, the farmland was beautiful and he couldn't see why she moved away for the apartment in the city.

"I wanted to experience city life," Beth explained, as if she had read his thoughts. "Maggie moved out for college and to live near Glenn after she was done with that and she always gushed about how great the city was. I moved out to try it myself, been there for two or so years now. I like it, but I wanna move back here sometime. Maybe have a family and a singing career to help keep us cushioned," Beth sighed before she snorted. "The singing career probably won't happen but who knows. What about you, Daryl? What do you want out of life?"

"I never really thought about it," he answered. "I was always just followin' Merle, I never thought about a life outside of that. This would be a nice place to raise a family," Daryl blushed as he thought about his words. He knew he was falling hard for the blonde, but he couldn't tell how far he had fallen.  _Do I want a family, a life, with Beth?_  He found himself asking and he blushed harder as he felt a stir of emotions in his body. Unwanted images of a small, blonde, curly haired girl running through the fields around them, laughing and calling him daddy flashed in his mind and he shook his head. He could see Beth, wearing his leather vest and carrying a little boy with a sippy cup of tea, both smiling at him as the wind blew softly. The images terrified and excited him. Daryl noticed a shiver go through Beth and he slipped his vest off and put it on her with a knowing smirk. Beth smiled and snuggled herself into it, taking a deep inhale of his scent. The sight of her wearing his vest again brought those confusing feelings and images back in a rush.

"You'd be a great father, Daryl," Beth's voice cut through his daydreaming and he looked at her in surprise. She shrugged before turning to go back to the house. "Come on, we should probably see what needs to be done to prepare for dinner tonight." Daryl followed, his eyes dropping to watch Beth's hips sashay through the tall grass. She glanced at him over her shoulder and smirked when she caught him staring. "Like what you see, Dixon?" He growled and quickly grabbed a hold of her, pulling her flush against his body and kissing her hungrily.

"Yea, I do. You're beautiful, Beth."

"You two have some serious sexual tension. Seriously, could cut through that with a knife," Maggie's voice interrupted and the two jumped apart. Maggie's eyebrows rose at seeing Beth with Daryl's vest on but she shrugged and carried on with her interruption. "Just do it already but hey, be safe when you do." Beth's cheeks reddened to almost a tomato red and Daryl coughed slightly, shifting and looking anywhere but at Maggie who was laughing. "You two are so awkward it's adorable. Come on, the Grimes family will be here soon and we need to get dinner goin'." Beth huffed and glared at her sister's back before turning back to Daryl, who groaned.

"I dunno if I can do this, Beth," he told her as he ran a hand through his hair. "Every time we turn around, someone is there to tease us…Can it just go back to being the two of us?" Beth smirked and shook her head.

"Maggie's nosey, you can't let her get to ya or she'll keep teasing you," she put her hand on his cheek and chuckled, "stop pouting. It only makes me wanna kiss you more."

"I don't pout."

"If you say so. Now we seriously better hurry up or daddy's gonna come out here with his shotgun." Daryl's eyes glanced quickly to the farmhouse before going back to the blonde.

"I thought you said he wouldn't shoot me?" Beth laughed and pulled on his hand to make him start walking.

"You practically gave him permission when you two met. Tellin him that any boyfriend of mine deserves to be shot? That was you tellin' him he could." Daryl's eyes widened and they drifted back to the house as they neared it. He could see Hershel watching them through the window and Daryl could feel his nerves escalating with each step he took.

 _Oh, shit,_ he thought.


	11. Chapter 11

Daryl followed Beth into the farmhouse and assisted in meal preparation in whatever way Maggie and Beth told him to. He could see Hershel watching him out of the corner of his eyes and it only made him feel more nervous and uncertain. Both of these emotions were feelings Daryl was not used to feeling. It made him uncomfortable and he had to fight to keep from making a mad dash out of the house to his truck and leaving. He wouldn't do that; he couldn't do that to Beth. Him being here with her family for Christmas was important to her. It also had allowed him the chance to see just how far away from The Governor she would be. He hoped the distance and unknown location of the farm would help aid in keeping her safe from the vengeful man. A car honked from outside and Beth perked up, smiling brightly. She set down the knife in her hand and wiped her hands on a dish towel before grabbing his and pulling him excitedly to the front door.

"The Grimes family is here, come on!" Daryl chuckled and allowed the petite blonde to pull him out of the house. He caught a laugh from Hershel as the older man watched and Daryl felt some of his discomfort alleviate with the sound. Daryl's eyes followed Beth as she ran down to the steps, his vest flapping against her body as she ran, and bolted to the two cars that were parked next to his truck, her arms open wide to hug a teenaged boy as he jumped out of the truck and ran to her.

"Carl, you've grown so much!" he heard her yell and she held the young man to her tightly. "Is that Judith? No way, she can't be so big already!" Beth's blonde head disappeared into the backseat of one of the cars as she looked in on young Judith. A man who looked to be slightly older than Daryl climbed out of the car, his smile wide as he watched Beth.

"That man there is Rick Grimes, the town Sheriff," Hershel's voice explained from beside him. "I don't think I need to explain to you how much trouble you'd be in if you hurt my little girl." Daryl glanced at Hershel and chuckled when he saw the teasing look on the older man's face.

"Am I correct in my assumption that there'd be no body to be found if I ever did hurt her?" Hershel laughed and nodded.

"But you're alright in my books. I see how you look at her. She says the two o' you just started dating but I can tell you've felt strongly for her for a while now. Haven't you?" Daryl looked down at his feet briefly before glancing back to Beth as she hugged Rick while holding a baby, who was maybe around a year old, in her other arm. An older woman with long brown hair, Lori, came up and hugged her as well. Both Grimes parents poked and lifted the vest slightly, asking questions about why she was wearing it and she excitedly pointed to Daryl before she moved to the other car and greeted another man, Shane she called him, and a blonde named Andrea.

"I-I don't rightly know, sir. Up until a week or so ago, I didn't know what I was feeling…But I fu…I messed up. She came to me and told me about her feelings and I shut down. I shut her down. One look at the pain on her face and I realized my mistake. I don't know what I'm feeling, Hershel…but I can't stand the thought of ever bein' without Beth or of ever seeing a look of pain on her face again." Hershel was silent a moment and Daryl risked a glance at the older man who was staring at him in thought.

"I've told my girls and Glenn about this and now I'm gonna tell you. My daddy was no good. He was a drinker and while he never raised a hand to my mama or me, his words cut us open as if he had. All I knew growin' up was anger and fear. That carried with me until I met my first wife. I couldn't tell what I was feelin' when her and I were together and it scared me like it does you. It took her daddy tellin' me what I was feelin' for me to figure it out.

"Now I'm gonna tell you what to do exactly like he told me what to do and I want you to think about it, the emotion I'm gonna tell you about. Not just the terrifying side of it, because I know all about how terrifying this one emotion can feel. No, I want you to look at Beth and think " _is this what I feel when I'm with her?_ " I want you to look at the examples of this feeling around you, in Rick and Lori out there and see how this emotion shows in them. How it shows in Glenn and Maggie, Shawn and Haley…its  _love_  and it's horrifying and exhilarating to experience. You may not understand it now, but I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at Bethy. You love her." Daryl shifted, feeling uncomfortable, but he couldn't take his eyes off the youngest Greene as she walked up to him, still holding the baby on her hip, her blue eyes shining with happiness.

After everything they had been through, that he had put her through without meaning to, the fact that she could still smile at him like that was astounding to him. The fact that she openly showed her trust in him despite everything, that she followed and listened to his plans to keep her safe without a doubt in her mind made his heart soar. He would do anything for the beauty walking up to him.

"Judith, this is Daryl. Daryl, this is Judith Grimes. Toughest baby I've ever known," Beth waved one of Judith's hands at Daryl and he smiled, instantly feeling his heart wrap around the baby's fingers in front of him. Judith held her hands out to him and he glanced at Rick, who nodded with a confused expression, before lifting her into his arms. Beth helped him get her adjusted in his hold and he laughed as the young girl giggled and clapped her hands, saying gibberish in her happiness.

"She doesn't normally take too kindly to strangers," Lori explained before reaching out to shake his hand and greeting him.

"Ta be honest, I've never really held a kid before," he explained and Lori smiled sweetly.

"It takes some getting used to. The most terrifying time is when they're newborns," she told him, her eyes lovingly watching her daughter play with Daryl's long hair. The baby gave a rough yank and Lori flinched, mouthing an apology to him as she hugged Hershel. Rick stepped up and shook his hand, meeting his eye.

 _Beth's right_ , he thought to himself,  _he does seem trustworthy_. He looked at Beth as he thought it and frowned at her knowing smirk. He was introduced to Shane, who instantly rubbed him the wrong way, and his girlfriend Andrea before the large group all pushed their way into the house. Beth gave his hip a poke as she walked by, returning to the kitchen to continue to help Maggie who came rushing out to greet the Grimes family. The brunette Greene snatched Judith away from Daryl and instantly started smothering the babe in kisses and tickles. Everyone's faces lit up at the sound of the child's giggles.

Daryl went back into the kitchen to help Beth with the last bit of the prepping for the feast the large family would partake in. He turned when he heard steps following him and nodded at Rick before continuing into the kitchen with Rick still following him. The sheriff washed his hands before silently helping prepare a salad for the meal. Beth and Daryl were working side by side on one part of the kitchen island, Rick was working on the other. Daryl could feel the man's eyes lifting every so often to him and Beth and he let out a huff, setting down the knife he was using to place his hands on the island.

"Something you wanna say ta me?" he asked the sheriff. Rick smirked and looked at Beth, who kept working on her meal prepping as though nothing was happening around her.

"Nah, I'm just tryin' to understand something."

"And what's that?" Daryl growled. His inner conscious was already putting the words he was sure the sheriff was thinking about his and Beth's relationship. "You thinkin a dumbass redneck like me don't deserve her? That I'm…"

"No," Rick interrupted and Daryl froze. Beth's hand gently touched his arm and he flinched away from the touch but she held on. He closed his eyes, regret filling him before he faced Beth and opened his eyes, showing her his regret and apology in his eyes. She smiled and nodded, her eyes showing him there was nothing to forgive. Rick watched them silently before continuing, "I wasn't thinking anything like that at all. In fact, from what I can tell, you two work really well together. Beth seems to be able to fill the gaps in you and the same goes for her. You seem to give her strength and confidence. Not to mention the happiness bouncing between you two.

"You don't show it as well as she does, Daryl, but the two of you are definitely very happy and compatible with each other." Rick paused and looked at the two blushing people in front of him. "No, what I wanted to understand was how Beth got that scratch on her neck. You collar hides it pretty well, but when you turned to nudge Daryl aside a moment ago, I could see it. I'm concerned is all."

"I didn' hurt 'er, I'd never do that ta Beth," Daryl defended, his inner voices assuming that Rick was going to ask if  _he_  had done it.

"I didn't think you had," Rick answered calmly. "But those scratches weren't done by fingernails or being clumsy. I'm concerned is all, Beth. What happened? Are you in trouble?" Beth bit her lip, her hand going to Daryl's to squeeze it.

"We actually wanted to talk to you about it but…today, now, is probably not the best time to do so…" Rick glanced at the two before nodding.

"I hear you like to hunt, Daryl. How about we go hunting tomorrow?" the sheriff asked and Beth's face brightened.

"Could-could I join you? I've never…" she paused, looking Daryl with her eyes full of hope and curiousity, "I've never shot a crossbow before."

"Yea, I figured you'd wanna come. I can give you some training on it," Daryl nodded, a smile lifting his lips. Beth's smile grew and she leaned up, pressing her lips to Daryl's softly. Daryl's hands instantly lifted to cup her face and he felt a breath rush out of his nose, his chest light with happiness. The couple pulled apart, their eyes showing the other emotions neither one could voice. Beth took in Rick's presence and her cheeks warmed. She shyly tucked her head into Daryl's chest and he chuckled, oddly not bothered by the man in the room with them. Rick lifted the salad bowl and left the couple alone in the kitchen.

"Everything's ready, let's carry things to the table," Beth stepped back slightly before Daryl pulled her back to him, his hand gingerly touching the visible scratch on her neck. "It's not on you, Daryl. We've talked about this." Daryl nodded and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Beth gently touched his chest, concern evident on her face. She waited for him to find his words but all he did was open and close his mouth, his eyes showing his mounting frustrations.

"Are you okay?" she asked him and he snapped his mouth shut, letting a huff of breath out of his nose. The hunter leaned his forehead against hers and he nodded slightly. Beth's hand wrapped around his neck and she kissed him again. Her lips soft and reassuring against his. She placed a hand on his cheek and met his eyes. Daryl could hear someone approaching and he stepped back from Beth with a sigh and started picking up the plates near him, carrying them out to the large dining room table that had been extended and added to fit the large family. Beth followed him quietly, carrying plates of her own and directing Andrea and Lori to find utensils they needed when she was asked. The couple set the food down and went back into the kitchen to grab more when Beth froze, grabbing Daryl's hand tightly.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes glancing around for anything out of the ordinary or dangerous.

"We pray," she told him suddenly and Daryl's eyes narrowed, confusion on his face. "We pray before every meal." She continued and Daryl quirked an eyebrow.

"You never pray whenever we ate together before...?" he asked and Beth shrugged.

"I was worried about making you uncomfortable...I think them while I eat. But tonight, we'll do a prayer...hold hands say our thanks for our family and food...if that bothers you, you don't have to join in. Daddy won't mind." Daryl reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm not religious. Hell, I've never believed in a being who would let a child go through what I did...but I won't let it disrupt dinner tonight." Beth shook her head.

"I wasn't concerned about you "disturbing dinner," I was concerned about making you uncomfortable."

"I'll be fine, Beth...You believe, don' ya? In God?" he asked and Beth nodded, her smile soft as she met his eyes. He nodded and shifted his weight, "it's important to ya and it makes ya happy?" again, she nodded. "Then I'll be fine."

"You'll tolerate it because it makes me happy and it's important to me?" she asked and Daryl blushed, looking away, mumbling something. "What?" she asked and his cheeks reddened more.

"I, uh...I said you're important to me..." his eyes glanced briefly back to Beth's before looking down at their feet. "If it's important to you, it's important to me..." Beth smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. She bit her lip, her eyes suddenly looking nervous. He tilted his head at her, confusion showing on his face again.

"Daryl, I...I think I lo-"

"Come on, you two! Food's getting cold!" Maggie's teasing voice yelled from the dining room and Beth blushed, ducking her head and walking to grab the last plate of food. Daryl sighed,  _damn, Maggie, always interrupting everything. This is going to be the longest week of my life._


	12. Chapter 12

When Beth had first asked Daryl to join her and her family for Christmas dinner as her boyfriend a couple days prior to the event, he had originally imagined the dinner to be quiet and awkward. Or full of arguing about how he couldn't date the blonde Greene daughter. Or just tense in general. He imagined tears and heart break. He did not imagine the party going on around him. The table had been extended to fit everyone and the dining room was near bursting from the large family that sat laughing, joking, teasing, and occasionally petty arguing (that ultimately led to more laughing).

Hershel sat on one end of the table with Maggie to his left and Beth to his right. Glenn sat next to Maggie with Shawn and Haley and Shane and Andrea filling that side of the table. Daryl sat beside Beth with Carl to his right, Lori and Judith in her high chair next to them, and Rick sat at the other end of the table. It was loud in the small space of the dining room but Daryl felt comfortable, at home, in the jubilation around him, something that confused him. He had never felt comfortable in large groups like this before. The family had sat down and immediately said grace for the food and the people in the room. Hershel had even added thanks for his children all finding people who made them happy in life, thanking the Lord for Glenn, Haley, and even Daryl. Beth's hand had squeezed his at the words and he figured his surprise must have been evident on his face.

After grace, the chaos immediately erupted as people (mostly Maggie and Glenn, though Shawn joined in frequently) began teasing Beth and Daryl about their relationship around requests for someone to pass some plate or bowl of food. They stopped (for a little while) after a sharp glance from Hershel, who seemed to notice Daryl's embarrassment over the attention. The group began breaking into small discussions about how Beth's song writing and singing career was going ("slowly," she replied honestly), how Rick and Lori were doing (Daryl found out that they had hit a rough patch around the beginning of her pregnancy with Judith, something that had apparently caused a lot of stress on her body and almost cost them the life of the happy girl playing in a scoop of mashed potatoes – information that Daryl could see Rick still felt guilty and ashamed of), and about when Glenn and Maggie and Shane and Andrea were going to get engaged.

Glenn's throat cleared at the question and he looked around as everyone around them quieted and looked at him curiously. Except for Hershel, Daryl noticed, he seemed to be smiling as if he knew what was coming.

"About that, actually," Glenn nervously said before standing and moving his chair back and pulling Maggie's out and turning her to face him. Her eyes were wide and Daryl smirked as he realized what was going on. Oh, the teasing would be returned ten-fold now, he was sure of that. Beth's hand squeezed his and his eyes met hers briefly, her happiness for her sister shining brightly in her face. "Maggie Greene, will you marry me?" Glenn asked her as he pulled out a diamond ring and kneeled in front of her. Tears fell from Maggie's (and Beth's, Daryl noticed) eyes as she nodded happily and held out her hand for him to put the ring on her finger.

The family erupted into cheers and whistles as the couple kissed before hugging and congratulating them. Daryl shook Glenn's hand, his face splitting into a brief grin for the man. Daryl imagined he would feel awkward witnessing another couple's proposal when his intimate relationship with Beth was so new, but he was once again surprised by the comfort and happiness he felt at the sight in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked softly beside him after she hugged her sister and Glenn. Daryl nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Surprisingly," he admitted and Beth tilted her head in confusion. "I feel at home here, Beth. I barely know these people and they barely know me but…it feels right. That sounds ridiculous," he muttered and Beth shook her head.

"No, you're part of this family, Daryl. It's normal to be comfortable with family."

"We haven't been dating for that long, Beth. Only a couple of days. I can't be considered part of your family so soon," he argued and Beth laughed.

"We've only starting calling each other those romantic titles for a couple of days, you're right. But I've loved you for longer than that and my family knows it." Beth's cheeks reddened as she realized what she had said. Her eyes shyly met Daryl's and she would have laughed at the deer-in-the-headlights look he had on his face if it wasn't such a nerve wracking confession for her. "It's okay, Daryl. You don't have to say it or anything…But…it's true." She sighed before turning to face him fully, her hands grabbing his tightly.

"I love you, Daryl Dixon." Daryl's ears registered the silence around them but his brain was too busy registering her words. She loved him. Beth Greene loved  _him_. After everything that he had put her through. He felt his heart leap and skip at her words and a powerful surge of emotions roar through his body, pulsing through him like his blood flowing. She trusted him, she loved him. He…did he love her? His thoughts raced back to the conversation on the porch with Hershel, to him and Beth standing in the tall grass outside and he felt his answer. He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, his eyes telling her everything she needed to know and he felt her lips lifting into a grin against his.

"Alright, get a room you two!" Maggie interrupted and Daryl felt his cheeks warm. Beth blushed brightly, her hand tight in Daryl's. Dinner resumed but Daryl's focus was solely on the hand in his and the light feeling he had in his chest. His thoughts and concerns regarding the Governor and Merle were in the deep recesses of his mind.

* * *

"Beth," Daryl turned her to face him on the porch after they were done with eating, cleaning up, and opening Christmas gifts (the Greene family had gotten him some new tools and hunting gear that made him want to go out and hunt right then and there, he was that excited). Her eyes shined brightly in the moonlight and he felt his smile widen. Her nose was red from the cold winter air and they were both bundled up to fight off the freezing temperatures. He had to walk the short distance to the guest house to go to bed and Beth had insisted on walking with him.

"I…" his words stuck in his throat and he snapped his mouth shut. Why were three words so difficult to say? Her saying them to him at dinner had honestly been the first time anyone had ever said them to him. Thinking back on it, he was surprised that he hadn't felt the urge to leave. He took a deep breath in through his nose and squeezed her gloved hands in his, partially to warm his own but more to feel the anchor she became for him when his words failed.

"I know," she stated and his eyes found hers. "I love you too."

"You deserve to hear it though," he told her glumly. She shrugged and put one of her gloved hands on his cold cheek.

"I see it. In your eyes, in how you talk to me, touch me, kiss me. I see it in how you protect me and fight for me. That's enough for me."

"I want to say them."

"Then you will. Maybe now's not the time for them. Maybe I said them too soon," she shrugged and smiled at him before kissing him. "So tomorrow you're going to give me tracking lessons and crossbow lessons right? And we're going to go hunting with Rick and talk to him about everything? It sounds like tomorrow is going to be a rough day." She chewed on her bottom lip and Daryl nodded, pulling her body to his and holding her to him.

* * *

Rick stared at the two in front of him over the small fire they had started to cook their lunch of squirrels. The three of them had been hunting since sunrise, the two men (mostly Daryl because while Rick hunted occasionally, he wasn't as knowledgeable about tracking as Daryl. Beth had noticed Rick watching and learning what Daryl shared, eagerly taking in the information the hunter shared with them) giving pointers to Beth about different tracks and how to tell their freshness. Beth was fascinated with it all but her favorite moment of the day was when Daryl put his beloved crossbow in her hands, the weight taking her slightly by surprise. She was a farm girl, so she was by no means weak, but she had always looked at the crossbow and assumed it was lighter than it really was.

Rick had simply observed while Daryl pointed out the different parts of the crossbow and instructed her on how to hold it and aim. She had yet to attempt firing it, she wanted to get more accustomed to the feel of it before she did that, so it had been Rick and Daryl who had caught their lunch. They had made camp about an hour earlier and had sat around the fire, eating and explaining the situation with the Governor to the sheriff. Daryl had filled him in on the complete story, surprising Beth that he would tell the cop about Merle's drug problems and the fight with Martinez. After the story was completely in the open, Beth shifted uncomfortably. Rick's face had filled with concern and anger at the story of her drugging and his eyes had shifted to hers with a look like he hoped they were joking. When he heard nothing had happened outside of her drugging, he had visibly relaxed.

"So what do we do, Rick?" Beth asked and Rick sighed heavily. A sudden  _ **ding!**_  pulled their attention and Beth pulled her phone out of her pocket.

_Hope you're enjoying hunting. Tell your boyfriend he may want to go to the King County Medical Examiner's office to claim his body. – The Governor_

Beth's eyes widened as she took in the image attached to the text. A bloodied Merle stared back at her, his eyes glazed over. He looked near death in the image and Beth let out a gasp, her eyes watering as she shakily handed the phone to Daryl, who stood and looked around, his body shaking with rage. They showed the text to Rick and he stood.

"The King County Medical Examiner's Office?" Rick muttered before turning to leave quickly. "We need to go, I'll take you there. Plus, he knows we're out here. It's not safe," Rick ordered and Beth nodded.  _ **Ding!**_

_He thought if he found me and confessed that he had done it all, that I would leave you two alone. Then he tried to kill me to save you both. This is two out of three. You're next._

**_Merle Dixon, time of death, 12:48pm._ **

Beth's eyes flew to Daryl's face when he stopped walking and she read the message over his shoulder. The pain she saw on his face when she looked back up at him in fear made her heart break and he suddenly folded in on himself, dropping his crossbow to the ground as he collapsed to his knees before lying on his back on the ground, his sobs loud and body wracking. Never had Beth felt so completely useless as she dropped down next to him, laying her head on his chest and holding him as best as she could, tears of her own leaking down her face.

* * *

 **A/N:**  I'm sorry...I need to go get some ice cream and tissues now... :(


	13. Chapter 13

Daryl would be lying if he told the older man in front of him that he was okay. He'd be lying if he told him he didn't need his daughter now more than ever but his concern for her safety outweighed everything else. His heart was broken…or maybe it was heavy. To be honest, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that his chest hurt all the time and a lump was permanently stuck in his throat. He felt like his lungs couldn't get enough air and his eyes burned to shed tears he couldn't release. His eyes glanced up at the older man sitting across from him in a rocking chair on the front porch of the farmhouse, nerves and guilt portrayed on his face.

"I understand if you want me to leave and never see Beth again after all of this is done and over with. It's my fault Beth is in this situation. I completely understand if you want me to leave. Once I know she's safe, I'll be gone." Hershel stared at him, his eyes turning cold at Daryl's words. Daryl had spilled everything to the older man. He had told him the truth of why he and Beth were there for an entire week. The words spilled out of his mouth much like they had with Rick; explaining the fight and Beth's drugging and the threats and finally, Merle's death.

Rick, Daryl, and Beth had raced to the Medical Examiner's office where Daryl's fears had been confirmed. They had just received Merle's body shortly before the three had arrived. Daryl had broken down again when his eyes fell on his brother's beaten body. The final cause of death had been a gunshot to the heart. The rest of the time had been a blur to Daryl. He had decided to have Merle cremated and that he would spread his ashes in the woods. He couldn't see his brother wanting to be buried in a box, though Daryl would be lying if he said he didn't want some form of permanent marker for his brother in a cemetery. Somewhere he could go to see physical proof that his brother had been alive. He didn't want Merle to just disappear from the world like his mother had. Somehow, Rick and Beth had gotten him back into Rick's car and back to the farmhouse where he determined to tell Hershel the truth.

Beth's life was in danger. The Governor was looking for blood, not just revenge or to scare them. No, the man was determined to make them pay for the lives of his men.

"I won't do that, son," Hershel's voice brought his mind back to the present moment and Daryl's eyes widened at the man in front of him. "I wouldn't do that to Beth, even if I wanted to. Beth loves you and losing you would hurt her. You leave my girl after all this and there will be hell to pay, Daryl Dixon. And not just from me. No matter what happens, don't you  _dare_  leave her after this." Daryl sighed and nodded. "I want to hear you say it, son. You love my daughter, don't you?" Daryl cleared his throat and nodded.

"I do, sir. I love your daughter with everything I've got. I'd die before I let something happen to her." Daryl froze when he realized the words that left his mouth. He had said them. The words that just last night wouldn't escape his throat had done just that. He felt his heart lift slightly and found himself standing before he realized what he was doing. The words were out and Beth needed to hear them before he lost his nerve, before the words got trapped again.

"Excuse me." He walked into the farmhouse, his eyes searching for the blonde woman who had claimed his heart. The blonde who had pulled him from the darkness he had been in. The girl who had showed him hope and faith. Who had showed him how to care about other people. The same blonde who would be his strength during this dark time of grief and loss. He entered the kitchen and saw Beth explaining everything to Maggie over a tub of ice cream the two sisters were eating directly out of. Her blue eyes rose to his and she smiled sadly, her eyes bloodshot and her nose red and runny from her crying.

Daryl felt a brief flash of shame as he recalled he had spent much of the afternoon earlier that day crying in her arms, her gentle words trying to ease the pain in his chest, her hands soothing through his hair and down his back. Maggie's hand found his and she squeezed it slightly, smiling softly at him and he nodded in return. Beth chuckled slightly as she tried to cover her tear stained face, rubbing her nose on her sleeve, muttering about how awful she must look after crying. Daryl's mind flashed briefly to how he must have looked to her when he was sobbing so hard earlier but he shook his head, focusing on her face.

"You're beautiful, Beth. You're always beautiful to me. You're beautiful and strong, patient and understanding, comforting and a light in my darkness and I love you," Daryl found his eyes tearing up and he blinked fiercely to try and clear them. He wrapped his arms around Beth and kissed her hard, dipping her body slightly. Beth responded quickly and he could feel tears running down both of their faces, both of them sharing in their grief as well as their happiness. Part of Daryl felt terrible for feeling any happiness after the loss of his brother but he knew that if he didn't have this moment of happiness, he would disappear back into that darkness and he wasn't sure if he could find his way back out of it. He pulled back from the kiss, "I love you. I love you. Fuckin' hell, Beth Greene, I love you."

"Language, son," Hershel chided and the couple chuckled, finding comfort in the other's arms.

_I know that we're not the same_

_But I'm so damn glad that we made it_

_To this time, this time, around, yeah_

_**You got somethin' I need.** _


	14. Chapter 14

"No one has been able to pin point the Governor's location. We searched the woods to see how he knew where we were, to see if maybe he followed you both here but there weren't any tracks. The best I can think of is that he's tracking your cell phone, Beth," Rick explained to the group. Beth pulled out her phone and threw it against the wall, breaking it into pieces.

"A little late on that one, Beth," Daryl grumbled. Beth glared at him and he mimed a zipper across his lips. Things had been quiet for the past few days and it had unnerved the Green and Grimes families. They all knew that The Governor was far from done and tensions had started rising

"I did that so that we can leave. Daddy can go to Maggie's for a little while, so he'll be safe, we leave the farm until he's caught." Beth suggested but Hershel shook his head.

"I'm not leaving my farm, Bethy, and I already sent Maggie to Glenn's so that she'd be safe." Hershel declared stubbornly, making Rick shake his head.

"It's too dangerous for you to stay here, Hershel. Beth's right, you should leave for a few days." Daryl's phone buzzed and the group all whipped their heads to stare at him as he pulled it out.

"Easy, it's just Dale saying for me to take as much time off as I need," Daryl explained as it buzzed again, everyone's eyes moving back to the device in his hands. He gripped the phone tightly in his hand and cursed before turning it and showing everyone the picture of the lit up farmhouse he had been sent.

"He says he wants to speak with Beth and I out by the barn. Beth, you stay here with your dad, I'll go…"speak" with him…Teach that asshole for killin' Merle." Daryl stood up and Beth and Rick followed suit.

"No, you're not going alone. Merle went alone, Daryl, and now he's…"

"Dead, yeah, thanks for reminding me, Greene." Beth stepped in front of him, her face showing the rage and pain his words brought her.

"I miss him too, Daryl. Don't you dare act like he only meant something to you! You're not going alone! I can't lose you too, Daryl. I-I don't know what I'd do if he…"

"I'll call for backup, Daryl. You go out there alone, he'll kill you." Rick pointed out as he called the station on his phone and requested officers to the farmhouse.

"By the time they get here, Rick, he could have already killed all of us," Daryl pointed out as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans and checked the clip, making sure it was loaded and ready before returning it to its hiding place.

"Daryl," Beth started before the hunter put his hands on her shoulder.

"I  _need_  you to stay here, Beth. I'm not going anywhere but I can't risk losing you. I've already done that once in this life, I won't do it again. Stay inside with your father." Daryl leaned down and kissed her, silencing her protests. "I love you, Beth. I'll be back."

"At least let Rick join you…Rick?" Beth turned to the sheriff and he nodded his agreement. Daryl sighed but nodded and the two left the house. Beth sunk onto a couch cushion as anxiety began to fill her gut. Her brain instantly began filling with the different scenarios of how the Governor could severely wound or kill Daryl.

"I'm ready for this shit to be over with," Daryl grumbled to Rick as they walked cautiously to the barn. "I want to prove to Beth that I can be the man she thinks I am and I can't…I can't be that man with this asshole stalking us and threatening us…"

"You're already that man, Daryl, or she wouldn't love you. I agree, though, about wanting this over. You two were happy at Christmas, carefree. You two haven't been the same since. There's a tension between you both now…" Daryl nodded, having felt the tension rising between the two of them ever since they had found out about Merle's death.

"I can't lose her, Rick. She's…she is the sunlight for me. I asked Hershel if he wanted me to leave after this situation was over but…honestly, if he had ordered me to never see her again, I wouldn't have listened." Daryl's eyes glanced around as they approached the barn, but the Governor was nowhere to be seen. His eyes glanced to the ground and he could make out tracks in the pale moonlight that was shining down on them. The tracks were fresh, so someone  _had_  been there recently. His eyes took in how the footprints seemed to pace around the front of the barn before walking off. Toward the house.

"Fuck," Daryl cursed as he pulled out his phone and dialed Hershel's phone number and running back to the house, Rick on his heels once he saw what Daryl had. The phone rang three times before it was answered.

"Hello?" It was Beth's voice.

"Beth, babe, he went to the house. Get your dad, go to a car, get out!"

"I'm not leavin' you, Daryl!" her voice sounded panicky and he could hear her yell for her father.

"Get in a car, Rick and I will meet you at the highway."

"Okay, I love…" her words were shortened as a gunshot echoed across the fields.

"Beth?" Daryl yelled into the phone. He could hear the phone crash on a hard surface and he could hear her screaming and crying a distance away from where the phone had landed.

* * *

"Okay, I love…" Beth started to say into her father's cordless phone as she nervously grabbed her bag of clothes from her room and walked back downstairs. Her words were cut off by a gun shot echoing from the porch.

"Daddy?!" she screamed, dropping her bag and the phone and running out on to the porch. She slid to a stop at the sight of the man from the bar, Phillip, The Governor, with a gun pointed at her father's head as he kneeled in front of him. Tears filled her eyes at the sight of a bullet wound in her father's arm.

"Please, just…leave him alone. I'll do whatever you want…just please; let my daddy go…" a cruel smile crossed the Governor's face before he pulled the trigger, her father's body seeming to fall in slow motion to the ground. Beth felt her heart stop and her sobs became choking and she barely felt her body hit the ground next to her father's body. Words tumbled from her mouth but her brain couldn't register what she was saying. A hand grabbed her hair and roughly pulled her head back roughly, her brain registering that she was in grave danger as she took in The Governor's face.

"That's three," he stated calmly before kneeling in front of her, his gun against her forehead. "Now, poor, depressed Beth Greene couldn't handle the pain of losing her father and her boyfriend…so she decided to finish what she hadn't all those years ago." Beth felt something being shoved into her hands and she stared at the kitchen knife, her stomach dropping.

"No, Daryl's alive…I won't do it."

"You will or I'll kill Rick and his entire family. Poor Judith…she's just started to pull herself up to stand…" Beth's eyes widened.

"How…how do you…know that?" The man laughed before grabbing her hand holding the blade and pushing the blade into her scar.

"I have people everywhere, Beth. Let's see…a good friend of yours, Shane Walsh, he's a good confidante of mine. Once I tracked your phone, I gave him a call to let me know when to catch you and your boyfriend alone. He happened to explain that you two were buddies with the sheriff."

"Sh-Shane? He wouldn't…no, he loves the Grimes family." Beth was stalling, trying to buy time for the other police to get there, for Daryl and Rick to get back to the house from the barn. They were running, so Beth knew they'd be coming around the house at any moment. The Governor seemed to figure out what she was doing and ripped the knife from her hand and moving it deeply across her scar and slicing her skin open. She cried out in pain before throwing herself into the Governor's body and knocking the knife from his grip.

She had to move quickly, the cut was deep and she was losing blood fast. Her hand slipped around the knife handle but she grabbed it with a firm grip and turned, stabbing it into the Governor's thigh. He let out a yell and kicked her away from him with his other leg and pulled the blade out, throwing it aside.

"That was for Merle," she yelled. She was already feeling dizzy and fought to stand back up in front of the cruel man. He walked over to her angrily and kicked her back down to the ground.

"You'll pay for that," he growled as he raised his gun to her forehead again.

"NO!" a body flew from Beth's right and tackled the Governor to the ground. Her eyes fought to remain open as she watched Daryl punch the man over and over again. Her blue eyes moved to her father's body and she crawled slowly over to it, her sobs returning and shaking her body fiercely before she returned her gaze to Daryl and the Governor's fight. The Governor had managed to flip the tables and was choking Daryl, his hands crushing the hunter's windpipe as he struggled to get free from his grasp.

Beth's vision began to turn darker and she felt her body collapse to the ground as a gunshot went off. The world went dark as the Governor's body fell dead to the ground next to Daryl.

"BETH?!" Rick lowered his gun after shooting the Governor in the head and he raced to her side, applying pressure to the large cut on her wrist. A strong sense of déjà vu hit the sheriff as he realized this was the second time he had had to do this for the young woman. Sirens could be heard down the road, Daryl's gasping and coughing for air getting closer as the man crawled to Beth.

"Is she…alive?" he gasped out, his hand stumbling to Beth's neck to feel for a pulse. Daryl heaved a sigh in relief when he felt the faint flutter of her heart. Several police cars and an ambulance pulled up to the house and Rick immediately ran over to the ambulance to get assistance.

"Rick, what the hell?" he heard Shane yell as he scrambled out of his squad car.

"Hershel's dead, Shane…Beth is…" Rick felt his throat drying and tightening as he looked back at the bodies of two of the Greene family members and the hunched, shaking form of Daryl as the EMTs loaded Beth on a stretcher and guiding Daryl to follow them to get looked at.

"I'll stay, I'll give my statement…Daryl needs to be with Beth," he told his deputy and Shane nodded and the two stared at the ambulance as the couple was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.


	15. Chapter 15

Daryl collapsed into a chair in the surgery waiting room, sobs shaking his body in vicious heaves as he put his face in his hands, ignoring the pain the motion brought from the bruises and stitches on his face.

 _I can't lose Beth;_ the thought was a chant, constantly moving through his brain like a broken record. Occasionally, he would think of how he lost Merle only days ago and he had to fight to keep his thoughts from turning dark and thinking that he'd be burying Beth soon too. Ever since he had met the creative, spunky blonde-haired woman, his life had been filled with hope and happiness. To think of living his life without that was soul crushing. The hunter knew that if he lost Beth tonight, he'd have nothing to live for. He shook his head, willing the dark thoughts away. Beth was going to make it, she  _had_ to, and that made him selfish but he didn't care. He couldn't be left alone. He could hear Merle's voice teasing him about having abandonment issues or some other "nonsense" but Daryl shrugged the inner Merle away.

The sound of running feet approaching pulled Daryl out of his thoughts and he raised his head and looked to the hallway. The door flew open and Maggie stumbled in, leaning heavily on a crying Glenn as sobs shook her body. She looked up and met the grief-stricken, tear-filled eyes of Daryl and launched herself across the room, tripping and falling into him. Her hands gripped his shirt in white-knuckled grasps as she choked and sobbed on her tears.

"Bethy, where is she?" The door flew open again and Shawn came running in with Haley, both crying. Daryl swallowed around the knot in his throat.

"In surgery…" he pointed at the doors and the two Greene's looked at the door hopefully. "Been almost an hour…" the hunter choked out before his sobs strangled his words. "Maggie, Shawn…I am sorry, your dad…and…I shoulda done something from the start! I shouldn't have…" arms wrapped tightly around Daryl and he felt the pressure of more arms wrapping around them until the whole family was holding each other, supporting each other as the weight of their pain and fears threatened to knock them down.

"Nobody blames you," voices whispered around him and he felt himself collapse under their love and forgiveness.

The family sat beside each other, hands clasping each other's, heads leaning on shaking shoulders as the time continued to tick on slowly and sniffles echoed through the quiet room. Part of Daryl was in a panic. Shouldn't the doctors be done by now?

"No news, is good news," he heard Glenn whisper and part of him wanted to agree. The rest of him felt that something had gone wrong.

"You know…Beth's a strong girl," Maggie's voice shook as she spoke and she took a shuddering breath. The older Greene daughter told the story of how Beth panicked when she saw her birth control. She shared stories of how protective the blonde became when it came to Maggie's boyfriends. Glenn laughed and shared the story of how Beth came out to meet him with a baseball bat in her hand and how she had threatened him.

Shawn laughed and shared stories of how Beth had held her own against his friends as they teased and picked on her when they were younger. Daryl thought of every second he had spent with the young woman. How she could make him laugh so easily, how he craved her touch when he used to shun physical contact, how she stood up to his temper and Merle. Part of him wanted to share those moments with her family because they were so  _Beth_  and perfect, but the rest of him wanted to keep those memories to himself. Those memories, every single one of them, from their awkward first greeting to his lips meeting hers and pronouncing their love shortly before everything went to shit, they were special to him.

To someone else, those moments would seem like they came out of a damn romance novel with a quirky main character and an emotionally stunted asshole stealing her heart, but to him…those moments were  _them._ Those moments defined their friendship, their intimacy, and he wanted to hold them in a box inside of himself for the rest of his life, however long or short that may be.

The doors to surgery opened, ripping Daryl from his thoughts, and the entire family jumped to their feet as a doctor walked in.

"Beth Greene's family?"

"Yes, that's us…how is she? Is she okay?" Maggie asked hurriedly.

"We stitched the vein and her wrist up but she's lost a lot of blood so we've started a blood transfusion. We've moved her to recovery. Once we know for certain she'll recover and that there weren't any complications, you'll be allowed back to see her." Maggie sagged against Glenn in relief but Daryl found it hard to feel anything. Not just yet. Not until he knew with absolute certainty that she was okay.

* * *

Hours later, exhausted, bloodshot blue eyes stared at the small blonde in the bed. They had been allowed to see her a long time ago, Maggie and Glenn hovering hear him at her bedside while Shawn and Haley hovered at her other side. Maggie, Shawn, and Daryl were the only ones still awake, though he could tell Shawn was quickly losing the battle. The beeping of the heart monitor and the steady breaths making Beth's chest rise and fall were the only reassurances they had that the blonde was still alive. Daryl laid his head on the bed beside her sickly pale arm and he closed his eyes, letting each beep of the monitor soothe his fears and concerns.

* * *

"Daryl…" her voice was soft, groggy sounding but it snapped the hunter awake instantly, his head lifting quickly off of the bed as his bleary eyes met hers. She smiled softly at him and he felt himself become more alert at the beauty of it. Daryl hand shot out and he smacked Glenn's arm, waking the Korean who jumped and panicked before realizing Beth was awake and waking Maggie.

"Hey, babe," Daryl greeted before throwing his empty Styrofoam coffee cup across the bed at Shawn, nailing the Greene brother in the head with it and waking him up. Daryl's voice cracked as he felt more tears burn in his eyes and clench his throat, "how are you feeling?" He felt Maggie and Glenn move closer and Beth's eyes moved to them and Shawn before returning her gaze to his.

"Tired. Where's daddy?" The room was silent, thick with uncertainty. Daryl's eyes never left Beth's but he knew Maggie and Shawn were looking at each other and deciding not to say anything at that moment. If they had kept looking at the blonde, they would have seen the regret and pain cross her features the moment she remembered. Her eyes stared into Daryl's and he knew the pain of her father's loss was visible in his eyes. He had only known her father for a little less than a week but he had been a great man and he had quickly accepted Daryl into his family.

Daryl only nodded and she took a deep breath, biting her lip and blinking away her tears. He smoothed a hand through her hair and bangs as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I'm sorry, so sorry Beth," and he was. Guilt gnawed at his insides at the loss of her father, at her situation. Beth shook her head.

"Don't you do this to me, Daryl. Don't you pull away from me," Beth choked out, her uninjured hand moving to the back of his head and pulling his forehead down to her lips. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you and you shouldn't either. I love you, we'll get through this together."

* * *

"Hey, Daddy," Beth whispered as she dropped to the ground at his gravesite, her eyes sad as she looked between her parents' names on the stone in front of her. Her eyes then looked to the smaller stone at her left and she gave a sad smile.

"Hey, Merle, I just wanted to stop by really quickly to share some news with you three." Beth laid the three bouquets of flowers in her hands down in front of the graves and took a deep breath.

"Maggie didn't want to live in the farmhouse, neither did Shawn. I don't really want to either but I couldn't bring myself to have it sold. None of us could. I'm living there now, so is Daryl. I know how that must make you feel, Daddy, but after everything…We tried living in different places, we really did. But Daddy, Mama, Merle…he pulled away from me. Even when I begged him not to, he left." Beth gave a shaky sigh.

"He left, broke up with me. The guilt was killing him inside. It took a while, a long while, before he could even look at me. We were right back at square one, and god, it hurt so bad…"

"But your daughter is stubborn," a gravelly voice said from behind her and Beth smiled as she turned to watch Daryl join her at the graves. "I was stupid, Hershel, you told me not to leave her no matter what and I did. She's stubborn and kept pulling me back."

"It took some work and some days are more challenging then others, but we'll persevere. Together." Beth grabbed Daryl's hand and squeezed it tightly in hers. He adjusted their hands to lace their fingers together.

"A family friend took over your vet clinic, bought it from us. We took that money, plus some of your life insurance money and we built a repair shop for Daryl to own and work in…"

"As a loan, I've already paid most of it back," Daryl interrupted, making Beth shake her head and smile.

"I told him you wouldn't mind but he insisted that the money be replaced and kept safe for future situations. I stay at the house and we work with a couple farmhands to keep the farm going."

"She's forgetting an important piece of information though, Hershel," Daryl chided, his eyes full of pride and love and never parting from Beth's face. Beth chuckled.

"One of my songs was released on the radio. It's called 'Julie' and it's kinda funny how and why I wrote it." Daryl heaved an annoyed sigh, his eyes going skyward as he frowned.

"I'm never going back to that bar again, Sweetheart."

"I know," the blonde leaned against the hunter as she kissed his cheek. "Daryl and the guys from the shop went to the bar one night and invited all their girlfriends along to celebrate how well the shop was doing. I went to the restroom and when I came out, this tramp, sorry, Daddy, but that name is exactly what she was, was hitting and practically pawing all over Daryl. Her name was Julie. I got so mad at her that I left him at the bar and ran straight home, picked up my guitar, and sang about it. Now that song is all over the radio and I have an album about to be released."

"If she had stuck around, she would have seen me tell the tramp that I was taken and in love with the most beautiful, talented woman I've ever met. If you had stuck around, Beth, you would have seen the guys and their girlfriends make her life a living hell. I left as soon as I saw Beth walk out the door but damn, do you walk fast girl. Made me have one of the guys take me to the house. I heard the song you were writing. That night led to some great make up se…"

"Daryl!" Beth blushed as she elbowed him and he laughed.

"Sorry. I'm proud of you," Daryl whispered to her, "for writing a song about that mess instead of breaking her face or something." Beth opened her mouth to mouth of some snarky response but he quickly clamped his over hers in a searing kiss. "I'm proud of you for being stubborn. With me and with your dreams," he said against her lips.

Beth smiled and returned his kiss. They still had a long road ahead of them, she knew that. There were days she struggled to get out of bed and days that he still struggled to look at her, but they were struggling and working together to make everything work.

**A/N: We have reached the end of "Pleasure to Meet You, Mr. Dixon." Please keep an eye out for the sequel, I'm not sure when it will be posted, but it's a work in progress right now.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey guys! The sequel to this fic is now up!**

**It is titled 'I Do, Mr. Dixon'**

**Please let me know what you think of it on here or on my tumblr! I will be doing my best to post regularly but I'm still trying to set up a routine in life between being a first year teacher, grad school, and writing, so please be patient with me!**

**I am continually blown away by the number of people who have favorited and followed this story and the reviews you all have left on it! Thank you so much!**

**I hope you all enjoy the sequels as well!**

**All my love,**

**Akira**


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